Calgarian hopes donation of blood pressure kits for pregnant women saves lives

A Calgary woman is trying to help identify early warning signs of a life-threatening pregnancy complication, with the hope other families don't face the same tragic outcome hers did.

Jillian Young's daughter, Cara Kernohan, died suddenly when she was 35 weeks pregnant, due to HELLP syndrome, a potentially fatal hypertensive disorder involving the blood and liver.

Young is partnering with a local obstetrician to provide 250 blood pressure cuff kits to pregnant women in Calgary, to help them monitor for a range of serious hypertensive disorders, including HELLPsyndrome and pre-eclampsia, during pregnancy.

"I hope it cuts down the tragic losses I'm just one mom here trying to make a difference," said Young, whose granddaughter survived and is now seven years old.

Since her daughter's death, Young has held annualfundraisersand is using a portion of the moneyshe's raised to purchase the blood pressure cuff kits.

"The goal is to start the decrease andto have the tools for pregnant women to monitor their pregnancies."

Pilot project

Dr. Jennifer Soucie, a Calgary obstetrician, was working the night Cara Kernohan arrived at the hospital, seven years ago.

"I was the first person to be with her. And so those 13 minutes of interaction with that young lady will never leave my mind," she said.

According to Soucie, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are on the rise.

Serious complications can lead to seizures, stroke, bleedingand even death. And, while screening is done during the first trimester, not every case is caught.

"It's not like a broken bone that you can see. Sometimes it's really subtle," said Soucie, who works in a high-risk obstetrics clinic at Foothills Hospital.

Through a research-based pilot project, Soucie will providethe kits to patientswho are flagged as at risk for these disordersat her clinic.

"If we ask her to do blood pressure monitoring and it raises a flag, we can react to it," said Soucie.

"And reacting to something sooner can provide a longer pregnancy, can avoid preterm delivery and, in some situations, could save a life."

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She said some patients, including those withType 1 diabetes or a history of pre-eclampsia, are already advised to monitor their blood pressure.

But, according to Soucie, blood pressure cuff kits are not funded for pregnant Albertans, meaning patients either have to pay for their own kit or go to a drugstore to use the publicly available machines.

"We're missing those people that potentially could be caught if we implemented something so easy as a blood pressure check," she said.

According to Soucie, the first stage of the University of Calgary research projectwill look at factors including ease of use, how to incorporate data into the patient's chart, and how easy it is to implement this idea.

A team will also evaluate the impact that at-home blood pressure monitoring can have on patients.

She expectstostart distributing the kitsin the next month.

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Ultimately, if the pilot proves successful, Soucie said a case could be made for the provincial government to fund these kits for all pregnant patientsas a form of preventative medicine.

Young purchased the kits through the Pre-eclampsia Foundation in the United Statesand they include a blood pressure monitor and cuff which connects to an app, instructions and educational materials, a blood pressure log and a wrist-band indicating the patient is at risk.

"That's the goal is to eventually get Cara's cuff kits into every OBGYN office," said Young, who is hosting the seventh annual Cara HELLPS walk and runthis Saturday.

"I won't stop until we really make a difference."

The symptoms of HELLPsyndrome include high blood pressure, headache, abdominal pain, swelling and jaundice.