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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Published on: June 29, 2013
Tissue Doppler echocardiographic markers of cardiac dysfunction in small-for-gestational age fetuses
Montse Comas1, Fatima Crispi, Rogelio Cruz-Martinez
1Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Institut Clinic de Ginecologia, Obstetricia i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to evaluate echocardiographic markers of cardiac dysfunction in small-for-gestational age (SGA) fetuses with normal umbilical artery Doppler.
Study Design:
Cardiac function was evaluated in 58 SGA (mean gestational age, 38 weeks) and 58 gestational-age matched normally grown fetuses by conventional echocardiography (peak early [E] and late [A] ratios and myocardial performance index [MPI]), and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) (annular peak velocities and MPI').
Results:
With conventional echocardiography, SGA fetuses had a nonsignificant trend to increased E/A ratios and left MPI compared with controls. TDI demonstrated that SGA fetuses had significantly lower right E' and A' peak velocities and higher MPI' values.
Conclusion:
These findings further support that a proportion of SGA fetuses have true late-onset intrauterine growth restriction, which is associated with subclinical cardiac dysfunction, as previously described for early-onset intrauterine growth restriction.
