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Shortness of Breath During Pregnancy: Could a Cardiac Factor Be Involved?
Sorel Goland1, Sharon Perelman2, Nardin Asalih3
1Department of Cardiology, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel.
Clinical Cardiology
|September 29, 2015
Summary
Shortness of breath in pregnancy may indicate subtle cardiac issues. Echocardiography revealed thicker hearts and altered pressures in women with unexplained shortness of breath during pregnancy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Obstetrics
- Physiology
Background:
- Shortness of breath (SOB) is a common symptom in healthy pregnancies.
- When no clear cause is identified, subtle cardiac dysfunction must be considered.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential myocardial dysfunction in pregnant women experiencing significant SOB.
- To identify echocardiographic markers associated with SOB during pregnancy.
Main Methods:
- Recruited healthy pregnant women with significant SOB.
- Conducted comprehensive echocardiographic assessments, including tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and 2D strain imaging (2DS).
- Compared echocardiographic data with a control group of pregnant women without SOB.
Main Results:
- Pregnant women with SOB exhibited significantly thicker heart walls (septum and posterior wall) compared to controls.
- SOB group showed shorter E-wave deceleration time and higher pulmonary artery pressure.
- A trend towards lower S' velocity on TDI and increased torsion on 2DS was observed in women with SOB.
Conclusions:
- Significant SOB in pregnancy, even without an obvious cause, is linked to notable echocardiographic findings.
- These findings suggest potential subtle cardiac involvement that warrants further investigation.
- Identifying these cardiac associations may lead to improved therapeutic strategies for managing SOB in pregnancy.
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