Neonatal Hypertension

According to the Auckland District Health Board neonatal hypertension is not a common condition in newborn babies occurring in between 0.7 and 2 percent of newborns discharged from New Zealand's hospitals.

Names

• The University of Virginia reports neonatal hypertension is also known as persistent pulmonary hypertension and persistent fetal circulation.

Definition

• Neonatal hypertension occurs when the lungs and circulatory system of a newborn baby revert to working as they did when a fetus in the womb. The University of California San Francisco in the womb blood is diverted from the lungs of the fetus by the blood vessel Ductus Arteriosus. When a baby is born the Ductus Arteriosus closes for the life of the baby and the lungs of the baby fill with blood. In neonatal hypertension Ductus Arteriosus does not close and diverts blood away from the lungs.

Causes

• According to the University of ,neonatal hypertension is most common in babies born at or after the full term of pregnancy who are involved in a difficult birth or that receive too little oxygen during the birthing process.

Symptoms

• The symptoms of neonatal hypertension are listed by the University of California San Francisco as including rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, respiratory distress and low oxygen levels.

Treatment

• The University of Virginia explains neonatal hypertension treatments aim to increase oxygen levels in the body of the newborn by using treatments, such as mechanical breathing machines and inhaling nitric acid to dilate the blood vessels within the lungs.