Ophélie 31 years old

I am the mother of a 10-month-old boy. During my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with fibromuscular dysplasia (a disease of the connective-elastic tissue of the arteries), which led to renal artery stenosis.

After a first month that went well, in the second month I started to have regular headaches, followed by vomiting and the onset of high blood pressure.

Thanks to a cerebral MRI, following an initial stay in the emergency room for violent and unusual headaches, the doctor discovered a cerebral arteriovenous malformation. He prescribed anti-hypertensive medication.

But my violent headaches continued, and a new cerebral MRI verified that the malformation had not bled.

After a third stay in the emergency room, following unbearable head pains, gestational hypertension was suggested, and my gynecologist, concerned about my high blood pressure despite my treatment, advised me to consult the gynecological emergency room at Conception in Marseille. Following several in-depth examinations, a kidney problem was diagnosed.

I was then hospitalized for a week in the Cardiovascular/Hypertension department of the Timone University Hospital in Marseille, where the doctors finally diagnosed me with stenosis of the right renal artery, the cause of my high blood pressure.

Unable to undergo surgery as I was pregnant, the doctors prescribed an anti-hypertensive treatment which was authorized with my pregnancy and rapidly lowered my blood pressure and, by the same token, my headaches. Afterwards, monthly monitoring checked that my artery was not narrowing any further.

Three months after giving birth, i.e. eight months after the discovery of the renal artery stenosis, the doctors performed my operation, which consisted in dilating my renal artery endovascularly with a small balloon (they call it angioplasty). The operation brought my hypertension and headaches under control, with follow-up checks every three months for a year.

I'm happy and relieved today that the persistence and patience of the medical teams who followed me through this trying experience for a mother-to-be finally uncovered the origin of my problems, which don't prevent me from having another baby with regular close monitoring.

As for Aurel, my baby, he's doing wonderfully.

So headaches, especially if they're new, especially during pregnancy, should prompt you to consult a specialist as soon as possible to diagnose possible high blood pressure and an underlying cause, as was the case for me. It's important to listen to your body and symptoms, and to take care of yourself, at any age.

It's important to tell your story on the Agir pour le Cœur des femmes website, so that our stories can help other women to get tested and take better care of themselves.

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