I have P, but it's mild. The medication to control bp is for when it's really high, the less meds while preg the better. I also asked my Dr. about diet and she said it wouldn't hurt to lower sodium (watch preservatives too) but that isn't the cause of the high bp in pregnancy. It's related to hormones not typical factors like in cardiovascular patients. For pregnancy it's aways better to lay on your left side and I find raising my head with an extra pillow when I sleep or read helps keep my new bp related headaches somewhat at bay. Plus, she can try to keep calm and worry free (I know just how hard that is right now), but some people can feel their bp rise so if she feels dizzy breathless or just feels the pounding in her neck, try to take away whatever stimuli was causing it if possible. A comforting factoid for me was that at 27 weeks pregnant the early birth survival rate is 80-90%, so if the P gets worse she's almost to an early but not necessarily scary birth.

I had this with BOTH pregnancies (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension or Toxemia or preclampsia) The only things I had to do were - stop work and be on bed rest, lay on left side whenever possible, and keep feet elevated to avoid further swelling. Both times I was induced early - blood pressure would not come down even on bed rest. I had my first at 38 weeks - and my second at 37 weeks.