[Studies of maternal hemodynamics during normal pregnancy. Measurement of left ventricular performance and septal wall thickness by echocardiography].
The functional and organic cardiac changes accompanying the increase in circulatory blood volume during pregnancy are still not fully understood. Forty-seven women who had normal pregnancy and puerperium were examined by echocardiography from early in pregnancy to the 3rd month of puerperium, and the functional and organic cardiac changes were examined using left ventricular echocardiograms. The following results were obtained. The cardiac output reached the maximum value of 6.31 l/min at the 25th-32nd week of pregnancy, and thereafter gradually decreased, returning to the non-pregnancy value after 1 month of puerperium. The stroke volume and end-diastolic volume increased up to the 25th-32nd week of pregnancy and decreased thereafter. However they again increased on the 5th day of puerperium, showing maximum values of 76.9 ml and 98.0 ml, respectively. The values returned to the non-pregnancy value after 1 month of puerperium. The heart rate reached a maximum of 83.8 bpm after the 33rd week of pregnancy but returned to near the non-pregnancy value on the 5th day of puerperium. The ejection fraction did not change markedly throughout the study period. The cardiac index reached the maximum value of 4.08 l/min/m2 at the 25th-32nd week of pregnancy and returned to near the non-pregnancy value after 1 month of puerperium. The septal wall thickness reached the maximum value of 9.8 mm after the 33rd week of pregnancy. It had not returned to the non-pregnancy valve at the end of the 1st month of puerperium, but was back to the non-pregnancy valve after 3 months of puerperium.
D002302:Cardiac Output; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006346:Heart Septum; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D013318:Stroke Volume