The Impact of Maternal Gestational Hypertension and the Use of Anti-Hypertensives on Neonatal Myocardial Performance

BACKGROUND: Assessment of myocardial performance in neonates using advanced techniques such as deformation imaging and rotational mechanics has gained considerable interest. The applicability of these techniques for elucidating abnormal myocardial performance in various clinical scenarios is becoming established. We hypothesise that term infants born to mothers with gestational hypertension (GH) may experience impaired performance of the left and right ventricles during the early neonatal period. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess left and right ventricular (LV and RV) function using echocardiography in infants born to mothers with GH and compare them to a control group. METHODS: Term infants (>36+6 weeks) born to mothers with GH underwent assessment to measure biventricular function using ejection fraction (EF), deformation imaging, left-ventricle rotational mechanics (apical rotation, basal rotation, twist, twist rate, and untwist rate), and right ventricle-specific functional parameters (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and fractional area change) in the first 48 h after birth. A control group comprising infants born to healthy mothers was used for comparison. RESULTS: Fifteen infants with maternal GH and 30 age-matched controls were enrolled. The GH infants exhibited no differences in birthweight or LV or RV length, but they had lower EF (54 vs. 61%; p < 0.01), LV global longitudinal strain (-20 vs. -25%; p < 0.01), and LV twist (11 vs. 16°; p = 0.04). There were no differences in any of the RV functional parameters. CONCLUSION: Infants born to mothers with GH exhibited lower LV function than healthy controls, while RV function appeared to be preserved. This relationship warrants further exploration in a larger cohort.