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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Fetal Mouse Cardiovascular Imaging Using a High-frequency Ultrasound (30/45MHZ) System
Published on: May 5, 2018
Ultrasonographic diagnosis of delayed atrioventricular conduction during fetal life: a reliability study
Yvan Mivelaz1, Marie Josée Raboisson, Sylvia Abadir
1Cardiology Division, Fetal Cardiology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to evaluate the reliability of the 2 most commonly used ultrasonographic approaches for monitoring fetal atrioventricular conduction time (AVCT): (1) superior vena cava/ascending aorta (SVC/AA), and (2) left ventricular inflow/outflow tract (LVI/O) Doppler recordings.
Study Design:
Echographic studies from fetuses followed up for first-degree atrioventricular block (AVB-1) between 1998 and 2008 were reviewed. The ability to identify atrial contractions in the same fetuses by the SVC/AA and LVI/O approaches was analyzed.
Results:
Sixty-six studies of 13 fetuses with AVB-1 were available. Atrial contractions were visible in all SVC/AA studies. With the LVI/O approach, atrial contractions could not be identified in 26 studies (39%). AVCT delay was significantly greater in the nonidentifiable compared with the identifiable atrial contraction group (P < .001). Differences in heart rate and gestational age were not significant.
Conclusion:
The LVI/O is unsuitable for prenatal screening of conduction system anomalies.
