title: Predictive value of early embryonic cardiac activity for pregnancy outcome.
abstract: The biologic variation of the embryonic heart rate was investigated by transvaginal ultrasonography during the first trimester of normal (n = 141) and abnormal (n = 29) pregnancies, and the predictive value of a repeatedly diagnosed slow heart rate for pregnancy outcome was determined. The mean heart rate increased from 82 +/- 10.3 beats/min at 5 weeks' gestation to 156 +/- 9.6 beats/min at 9 weeks. A single observation of an abnormally slow heart rate did not necessarily predict subsequent embryonic death. However, a continued decline in embryonic heart activity, observed within a few days' interval, was always associated with a first-trimester abortion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Merchiers
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dhont
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: De Sutter
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Beghin
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Vandekerckhove
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First