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Gestation-specific reference intervals for right and left ventricular ejection force from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation

Gestation-specific reference intervals for right and left ventricular ejection force from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation
Gestation-specific reference intervals for right and left ventricular ejection force from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation
Aim:? Ejection force of the fetal cardiac ventricles has previously been described from 18 weeks of gestation. We aimed to establish gestation-specific reference intervals for ventricular ejection force (VEF) from 12 to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Material and Methods:? In a cross-sectional observational study of singleton pregnancies, examinations were performed in 236 women evenly distributed across each week of pregnancy from 12 to 40 weeks. Each mother was scanned once. For the aortic and pulmonary valves, the time to peak velocity (TPV) and the average (TAV) and peak flow velocity in systole (PSV) was measured. For each we averaged values from three consecutive complexes. The outlet valve diameters were measured and the VEF on both the right and left sides were calculated using the formula VEF = (1.055 × valve area × time to peak velocity × TAV) × (PSV/TPV) where 1.055 represents the density of blood. Measurements were repeated in 40 women to assess intraobserver reproducibility and in 19 women for interobserver variability.

Results:? We present reference intervals for right and left VEF. We demonstrated that the ventricular force on both right and left sides increases with advancing gestational age.

Conclusion:? Fetal cardiac physiology can be studied and Doppler indices reliably measured as early as the late first trimester of pregnancy. Ventricular ejection force and its relationship with fetal growth could be explored in future studies and this may eventually provide better understanding of changes which may predispose to adult cardiac disease.
1341-8076
160-164
Parasuraman, R.
8c94edf1-5f60-44dd-85eb-07febac5c3cb
Osmond, C.
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Howe, D.T.
2aff7e22-c75f-4d98-b8af-fe3e1a3d2dcb
Parasuraman, R.
8c94edf1-5f60-44dd-85eb-07febac5c3cb
Osmond, C.
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Howe, D.T.
2aff7e22-c75f-4d98-b8af-fe3e1a3d2dcb

Parasuraman, R., Osmond, C. and Howe, D.T. (2012) Gestation-specific reference intervals for right and left ventricular ejection force from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 38 (1), 160-164. (doi:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2011.01660.x). (PMID:21954884)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Aim:? Ejection force of the fetal cardiac ventricles has previously been described from 18 weeks of gestation. We aimed to establish gestation-specific reference intervals for ventricular ejection force (VEF) from 12 to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Material and Methods:? In a cross-sectional observational study of singleton pregnancies, examinations were performed in 236 women evenly distributed across each week of pregnancy from 12 to 40 weeks. Each mother was scanned once. For the aortic and pulmonary valves, the time to peak velocity (TPV) and the average (TAV) and peak flow velocity in systole (PSV) was measured. For each we averaged values from three consecutive complexes. The outlet valve diameters were measured and the VEF on both the right and left sides were calculated using the formula VEF = (1.055 × valve area × time to peak velocity × TAV) × (PSV/TPV) where 1.055 represents the density of blood. Measurements were repeated in 40 women to assess intraobserver reproducibility and in 19 women for interobserver variability.

Results:? We present reference intervals for right and left VEF. We demonstrated that the ventricular force on both right and left sides increases with advancing gestational age.

Conclusion:? Fetal cardiac physiology can be studied and Doppler indices reliably measured as early as the late first trimester of pregnancy. Ventricular ejection force and its relationship with fetal growth could be explored in future studies and this may eventually provide better understanding of changes which may predispose to adult cardiac disease.

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More information

Published date: January 2012
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 336965
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/336965
ISSN: 1341-8076
PURE UUID: 74afdead-1f3d-471c-baeb-a672dcd4d41c
ORCID for C. Osmond: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-4655

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Date deposited: 12 Apr 2012 10:26
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:50

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Contributors

Author: R. Parasuraman
Author: C. Osmond ORCID iD
Author: D.T. Howe

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