A preeclampsia test may save a mother’s and unborn child’s life. While looking for the symptoms of the condition is a standard part of the routine tests performed during pregnancy, there’s now another option, an at-home preeclampsia test from the team at Mirvie.
Preecamplsia currently affects 1 in 12 pregnancies and until now, it was only diagnosed by looking for symptoms that had already presented themselves,
The Emcompass at-home test for preeclampsia is different, providing expecting moms and their healthcare providers with valuable insights potentially months before symptoms occur.
Early Detection Of Preeclampsia May Change A Century Old Treatment Framework
In general, preeclampsia presents at 20 weeks pregnant or later. The condition is usually confirmed after a mom-to-be experiences high blood pressure and shows signs of organ damage.
Waiting for potential symptoms to present has long posed an issue for doctors and patients, as they are already fighting against the condition by the time they realize it has occurred.
Shockingly, preeclampsia management hasn’t change much in the past century:
“Patients should know their preeclampsia risk before it becomes a crisis. The prenatal care model—designed nearly 100 years ago to manage preeclampsia—has remained largely unchanged. Encompass is a paradigm shift based on an increased understanding of the underlying biology of pregnancy,” Dr. Thomas McElrath, Vice President of Clinical Development at Mirvie and a practicing maternal-fetal medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a press release.
How Encompass Detects Preeclampsia Before It Occurs
The Encompass at-home preeclampsia test examines gene expression patterns in RNA from the mom, placenta, and fetus to identify potential risk factors for preeclampsia.
A study of 11,000 pregnancies revealed that the Emcompass test identified 9 out of 10 pregnancies that later developed preeclampsia. Conversely, patients that presented a “low-risk” of developing preeclampsia were 99.7% less likely to develop the condition.
Keep in mind that Encompass is still an emerging tool in the early diagnosis of preeclampsia, and you should never rely solely on an at-home preeclampsia test to determine your risk factors. With that said, any test that may provide additional insights is always welcome, especially when it’s a rather non-invasive and simple test to perform at home. The good news is that your doctor will already be looking for signs by 18 weeks pregnant, well before symptoms tend to be revealed.
For now, the test is being rolled out for pregnant people who will be 35 or older at their due date and have no pre-existing high-risk pregnancy conditions for preeclampsia.
You can learn more about the Encompass preeclampsia test on the Encompass website.
The information provided is for educational purposes only. It should not be a replacement for medical care or advice. This info is not intended to diagnose or replace medical treatment. Consult your doctor if you have any questions about preeclampsia. If you are experiencing an emergency, contact 911 or find immediate transportation to the nearest emergency room.