Cerebrovascular Complications of Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Cerebrovascular complications of pregnancy, though uncommon, threaten women with severe morbidity or death, and they are the main causes of major long-term disability associated with pregnancy. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, pathophysiology, presentation and diagnosis, and management and outcomes of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis. We also discuss the posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, the reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome including postpartum cerebral angiopathy, and their relationship as overlapping manifestations of pre-eclampsia-eclampsia.