Role of Echocardiographic Systolic Parameters in Pre Eclamptics and Normotensive Women

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a disease unique to pregnancy and it is characterized by progressive hypertension, pathological edema and proteinuria.But till now the hemodynamics of preeclampsia is not properly understood and is debated.Study aimed to assess maternal cardiovascular function using echocardiography in normal and preeclamptic women.Material and Methods: Our study was a prospective study on 200 women admitted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, Bommakal, Karimnagar, Telangana state, India.All women underwent two-dimensional echocardiography at rest.Cardiac systolic parameters were recorded and studied.Results: The studied parameters like Mean Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), Mean stroke volume, Mean aortic root diameter and Mean total vascular resistance were higher in the Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) group than the controls and the difference was statistically significant.The Mean left ventricular outflow tract diameter in the Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) group was also higher than the control group, with the difference being insignificant.Conclusion: Women with preeclampsia have significant systolic dysfunction compared to normotensive controls.Blood pressure monitoring alone is insufficient to identify effectively, risk of cardiovascular complications in these subjects.