Techniques for assessing cardiac output and fetal cardiac function.
Fetal echocardiography was initially used to diagnose structural heart disease, but recent interest has focused on functional assessment. Effects of extracardiac conditions on the cardiac function such as volume overload (in the recipient in twin-twin transfusion syndrome), a hyperdynamic circulation (arterio-venous malformation), cardiac compression (diaphragmatic hernia, lung tumours) and increased placental resistance (intrauterine growth restriction and placental insufficiency) can be studied by ultrasound and may guide decisions for intervention or delivery. A variety of functional tests can be used, but there is no single clinical standard. For some specific conditions, however, certain tests have shown diagnostic value.
Department of Obstetrics, Bern University Hospital, Effingerstrasse 102, 3010 Bern, Switzerland. tutschek@uni-duesseldorf.de
Boris
B
Tutschek
Klaus G
KG
Schmidt
D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005330:Fetofetal Transfusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010927:Placental Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal