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Quantification of mechanical dyssynchrony in growth restricted fetuses and normal controls using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)

  • Kristina Krause EMAIL logo , Mareike Möllers , Kerstin Hammer , Maria Karina Falkenberg , Ute Möllmann , Dennis Görlich , Walter Klockenbusch and Ralf Schmitz
Published/Copyright: January 7, 2017
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Journal of Perinatal Medicine Volume 45 Issue 7

Abstract

Purpose:

To evaluate longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony in normally grown fetuses by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and to compare longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony in fetal growth restriction (FGR) with normal controls.

Materials and methods:

A prospective study was performed on 30 FGR and 62 normally grown fetuses, including 30 controls matched by gestational age, using STE and a transversal four-chamber view. Data analysis was carried out with a high frame rate of about 175 frames/s. Dyssynchrony was analyzed offline with QLab 9 (Philips Medical Systems, Andover, MA, USA) as time differences between peaks in strain of both ventricles and the septum. Inter- and intraventricular and intraseptal dyssynchrony were obtained and inter- and intraobserver reliability was analyzed.

Results:

Longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony was feasible in all cases, with high inter- and intraobserver reliability. Levels of inter- and intraventricular dyssynchrony were higher in the FGR than in the control group.

Conclusion:

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a reliable technique for cardiac function assessment in the fetal heart. Interventricular dyssynchrony could be a potential parameter for early detection of subclinical myocardial dysfunction before other parameters demand intervention. The future clinical role of longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony needs to be verified in larger studies and with a technique customized for prenatal echocardiography.

Keywords: Dyssynchrony; fetal growth restriction; speckle tracking echocardiography

  1. Author Contribution

    K. Krause: Data collection, Data management, Data analysis, Manuscript writing. M. Möllers: Data collection, Manuscript editing. K. Hammer: Data collection, Manuscript editing. M.K. Falkenberg: Data collection, Manuscript editing. U. Möllmann: Data collection, Manuscript editing. D. Görlich: Data analysis, Manuscript editing. W. Klockenbusch: Data collection, Manuscript editing. R. Schmitz: Project development, Data collection, Manuscript editing.

Author’s statement

  1. Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  2. Material and methods: Informed consent: Informed consent has been obtained from all individuals included in this study.

  3. Ethical approval: The research related to human subject use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, and institutional policies, and is in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the authors’ institutional review board or equivalent committee.

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Received: 2016-8-21
Accepted: 2016-11-30
Published Online: 2017-1-7
Published in Print: 2017-10-26

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction: placental disorders still not fully understood
  4. Review article
  5. Hepar uterinum: a history of ideas on fetal nutrition
  6. Original articles
  7. Twin pregnancy in women above the age of 45 years: maternal and neonatal outcomes
  8. Maternal endothelial damage as a disorder shared by early preeclampsia, late preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction
  9. Maternal venous SHARP1 levels in preeclampsia
  10. Second-trimester maternal serum markers in the prediction of preeclampsia
  11. Pregnancy outcomes regarding maternal serum AFP value in second trimester screening
  12. Quantification of mechanical dyssynchrony in growth restricted fetuses and normal controls using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)
  13. Serum cholesterol acceptor capacity in intrauterine growth restricted fetuses
  14. Antithrombin improves the maternal and neonatal outcomes but not the angiogenic factors in extremely growth-restricted fetuses at <28 weeks of gestation
  15. Simple approach based on maternal characteristics and mean arterial pressure for the prediction of preeclampsia in the first trimester of pregnancy
  16. Fetal death: an extreme manifestation of maternal anti-fetal rejection
  17. Intrauterine growth restriction and placental gene expression in severe preeclampsia, comparing early-onset and late-onset forms
  18. The relationship between maternal and umbilical cord adropin levels with the presence and severity of preeclampsia
  19. Expression of placental regulatory genes is associated with fetal growth
  20. Circulating soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 and placental growth factor from 10 to 40 weeks’ pregnancy in normotensive women
  21. A one year review of eclampsia in an Ethiopian Tertiary Care Center (Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, SPHMMC)
  22. Congress Calendar
  23. Congress Calendar
https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2016-0280
Keywords for this article
Dyssynchrony; fetal growth restriction; speckle tracking echocardiography

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction: placental disorders still not fully understood
  4. Review article
  5. Hepar uterinum: a history of ideas on fetal nutrition
  6. Original articles
  7. Twin pregnancy in women above the age of 45 years: maternal and neonatal outcomes
  8. Maternal endothelial damage as a disorder shared by early preeclampsia, late preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction
  9. Maternal venous SHARP1 levels in preeclampsia
  10. Second-trimester maternal serum markers in the prediction of preeclampsia
  11. Pregnancy outcomes regarding maternal serum AFP value in second trimester screening
  12. Quantification of mechanical dyssynchrony in growth restricted fetuses and normal controls using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)
  13. Serum cholesterol acceptor capacity in intrauterine growth restricted fetuses
  14. Antithrombin improves the maternal and neonatal outcomes but not the angiogenic factors in extremely growth-restricted fetuses at <28 weeks of gestation
  15. Simple approach based on maternal characteristics and mean arterial pressure for the prediction of preeclampsia in the first trimester of pregnancy
  16. Fetal death: an extreme manifestation of maternal anti-fetal rejection
  17. Intrauterine growth restriction and placental gene expression in severe preeclampsia, comparing early-onset and late-onset forms
  18. The relationship between maternal and umbilical cord adropin levels with the presence and severity of preeclampsia
  19. Expression of placental regulatory genes is associated with fetal growth
  20. Circulating soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 and placental growth factor from 10 to 40 weeks’ pregnancy in normotensive women
  21. A one year review of eclampsia in an Ethiopian Tertiary Care Center (Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, SPHMMC)
  22. Congress Calendar
  23. Congress Calendar
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