Losartan for Improved Vascular Endothelial Function After Preeclampsia
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Women who develop preeclampsia during pregnancy are more likely to develop and die of
cardiovascular disease later in life, even if they are otherwise healthy. The reason why this
occurs is unclear but may be related to blood vessel damage and increased inflammation that
occurs during the preeclamptic pregnancy and persists postpartum. The purpose of this
investigation is to determine the mechanisms contributing to this lasting blood vessel damage
and to test whether taking a medication that blocks angiotensin II receptors (losartan)
decrease these negative effects in women who have had preeclampsia. Identification of these
mechanisms and treatment strategies may lead to better clinical management,of cardiovascular
disease risk in these women.
In this study we use the blood vessels in the skin as a representative vascular bed. Using a
minimally invasive technique (intradermal microdialysis for the local delivery of
pharmaceutical agents) we examine the blood vessels in a nickle-sized area of the skin in
women who have had preeclampsia. We make these measurements after the subjects take a placebo
and after they take losartan (an angiotensin II receptor blocker) to test whether this
treatment improves vascular function in these women. As a compliment to these measurements,
we also draw blood from the subjects and isolate the inflammatory cells to test how sensitive
their inflammatory responses are following the placebo and the losartan treatment.