The incidence of pre-eclampsia in the western countries is estimated to range from 2% to 6% in healthy, nulliparous women. In developing nations, the incidence of the disease is reported to be 4- 18%,with hypertensive disorders being the second most common obstetric cause of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths in these countries Etiology of the disease is multifactorial, with risk factors like maternal age, oxidative stress, angiotensin T-235 homozygote having a different role in every case. Moreover, the disease its self is a multisystem expression of a complicated pathophysiology. Many attempts to explain the latter have been made with often controversial results. In the present article we explore the hypothesis of intra-abdominal pressure as possible causative factor of pre-eclampsia and the role ofthe maternal venous compartment and rennin-angiotensin-anldosterin system in this hypothesis.
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