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The influence of maternal COVID-19 on cardiac functions: From fetal life to infancy
Yasemin Özdemir Şahan1, Bedri Sakcak2, Şule Göncü Ayhan3
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Turkish Ministry of Health, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy can negatively impact fetal and infant heart function. Studies show impaired cardiac performance in babies born to mothers with COVID-19, persisting into infancy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy.
- Potential impact on fetal and child cardiac development.
Observation:
- Case-control study comparing pregnant women with COVID-19 (second trimester) to healthy controls.
- Fetal, neonatal, and infant cardiac functions assessed via echocardiography at multiple time points post-infection.
Findings:
- Significantly increased interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall dimensions in fetuses and infants of mothers with COVID-19.
- Impaired right and left ventricular diastolic function observed.
- Elevated myocardial performance indexes noted in the study group compared to controls.
Implications:
- Maternal COVID-19 has demonstrable short- and mid-term effects on fetal and infant cardiac function.
- Suggests a need for cardiac monitoring in infants exposed to maternal COVID-19 in utero.
- Highlights potential long-term cardiovascular health considerations for children born to mothers with COVID-19.
Objective:
To evaluate both short and mid-term effects of maternal COVID-19 on cardiac functions of fetuses and children.
Methods:
The present case-control study was conducted on 36 pregnant women who had COVID-19 infection in the second trimester of pregnancy and 30 pregnant women as healthy controls. Fetal, neonatal, and infant cardiac functions were compared between the groups. Assessment of fetal cardiac functions were performed in the last trimester of the pregnancy at least 6 weeks after the recovery of infection. The first postnatal echo was performed within the first 2 weeks and the follow-up (second) echo was performed in the 6-8 weeks of life.
Results:
The demographic data were similar between groups. Interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall end-diastolic dimensions were significantly higher in the study group in both fetal, neonatal, and infant periods. Impaired diastolic functions of right and left ventricles were detected and myocardial performance indexes with tissue doppler imaging of both lateral walls and septum were significantly higher than controls at all periods.
Conclusion:
Maternal COVID-19 seems to have a global impact on the cardiac functions of babies in the short and mid-term periods after maternal recovery.
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