Why the study?
Do fetal behavioural states affect echocardiographic cardiac parameters in healthy fetuses near term?
Do fetal behavioural states affect echocardiographic cardiac parameters in healthy fetuses near term?
Fetal behavioral states, specifically active phases, are associated with increased cardiac contractility and should be considered when evaluating fetal echocardiographic parameters.
Fetal behavioral state may influence echocardiographic measures; hypothesis-generating and should not yet alter clinical interpretation or reference ranges.
In order to verify if fetal behavioural states could affect cardiac parameters, thirty-one healthy fetuses were studied near term. We evaluated systolic time intervals (pre-ejection period and ventricular ejection time), M-mode parameters (fractional shortening and mean circumferential shortening) and Doppler flow velocities (mean peak velocity of aortic and pulmonary arteries) of left and right ventricles. Both fetal breathing movements and fetal heart rate patterns seem to modify these parameters with an increase of cardiac contractility during active phases of fetal behaviour.
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Arduini et al. (1987) studied this question.
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