We recorded our latest episode on International Women’s Day 2021, and the topic is particularly relevant and fitting. Host Jessica Faulkner (Augusta University) interviewed authors Graeme Smith and Logan Barr (both at Queen’s University), as well as expert Junie Paula Warrington (University of Mississippi Medical Center) about a new study by Barr et al. Using laser speckle contrast imaging and iontophoresis, the authors assessed microvascular function in women five years postpartum in both normal pregnancy and preeclamptic pregnancy cohorts. The authors also characterized hypertensive pregnancies as either mild or severe preeclampsia, a novel stratification of patients which helped identify unique functional alterations in the vasculature of the severely preeclamptic women compared to the mildly preeclamptic women. Why do the authors hypothesize that nitric oxide depletion and oxidative stress in the preeclamptic pregnancies are the culprits behind the endothelial dysfunction seen in these patients? What role does body mass index (BMI) play in the postpartum cardiovascular effects of preeclampsia? Listen to find out.

Logan C. Barr, Jessica Pudwell, Graeme N. Smith Postpartum microvascular functional alterations following severe preeclampsia Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published January 22, 2021. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00767.2020