*4.3. Human Cohort*

This prospective case-control study was carried out at St. George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London over a 12-month period from April 2016 until March 2017. The local institutional review committee approved the study (ID 12/LO/0810; NRES Committee London—Stanmore; date: 30-06-2012), and all participants provided written informed consent. Women with singleton pregnancy were recruited as cases. There were no cases of primigravida. Only women without any cardiovascular co-morbidity and before starting any antihypertensive medication were asked to take part in the study. Preeclampsia was defined according to the guidelines of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy (ISSHP) [30,31]. Normotensive healthy term pregnan<sup>t</sup> women without any co-morbidity were recruited as controls. Blood pressure was measured manually from the brachial artery according to the guidelines of the National High Blood Pressure

Education Program Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy [32]. Maternal data of the human cohort are given in Table 1.

**Table 1.** Maternal data of human cohort. Cases and controls are matched in age, body mass index (BMI), and scan time after delivery. Preeclamptic women show lower gestational age of delivery. Data given as mean ± SEM.

