Antihypertensive medication prescription dispensation among pregnant women in the United States: A cohort study

Abstract

Importance

Hypertension is increasingly common in pregnancy capable individuals, yet there is limited data on antihypertensive medication dispensation in peripartum individuals.

Objective

To describe antihypertensive medication dispensation from preconception through the first year postpartum.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective cohort study used the Truven Health Market Scan administrative data from 2008 to 2014 to identify women in the United States with commercial or government health insurance, aged 15-54, free from heart disease, who experienced a pregnancy and filled at least 1 prescription for an antihypertensive medication between 3 months prior to conception and 12 months after the end of the pregnancy.

Main Outcomes and Measures

We describe antihypertensive dispensation patterns (continuation, initiation, and discontinuation) by medication class during 5 time periods: preconception, first, second, and third trimesters, and the first year postpartum.

Results

Of 1,058,521 pregnancies, 108,614 (10.3%) were exposed to at least 1 antihypertensive medication dispensation. The most commonly dispensed medications across all periods combined were adrenergic blockers, calcium channel blockers (CCBs), and diuretics. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors were the third most dispensed medication class in the preconception period (26.4%), and fills decreased to 5.7% and 1.7% in the second and third trimesters, respectively. Of the women with chronic hypertension who filled at least 1 prescription prior to conception, 8.4% were not dispensed an antihypertensive medication during the first year after delivery.

Conclusions and Relevance

Antihypertensive prescription dispensation of both preferred and potentially harmful agents is common in pregnancy capable individuals. Patterns of dispensation suggest room for improvement in the treatment of chronic hypertension after a pregnancy.