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Updated: Jun 9, 2026
Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Post-COVID-19 Fetal Cardiac Morphology and Systolic Evaluation in Infected Pregnant Women by Fetal Heart
Feihu Zhu1, Yueshu Zhao2, Juan Wu1
1Ultrasonic Department, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Henan Province), Zhengzhou, China.
Insights
COVID-19 infection during early pregnancy negatively impacts fetal cardiac function and morphology. Fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) can identify these cardiac changes in fetuses of infected mothers.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Obstetrics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about its effects on pregnancy outcomes.
- Early pregnancy COVID-19 infection may pose risks to fetal development, particularly cardiac function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate fetal cardiac morphology and function in pregnant women with early-stage COVID-19.
- To assess the utility of fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) in identifying COVID-19-related fetal cardiac alterations.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study comparing 86 pregnant women with early COVID-19 to 90 healthy controls.
- Utilized fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) to measure global sphericity index (GSI), global strain (GS), fractional area change (FAC), and fractional shortening (FS) of fetal ventricles.
Main Results:
- COVID-19 group showed reduced left and right ventricular FAC and right ventricular GS compared to controls.
- Lower GSI values and reduced FS in specific segments (20-24) of the left ventricle were observed in the COVID-19 group.
- Right ventricular GS emerged as an independent predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Early pregnancy COVID-19 infection is associated with detrimental effects on fetal cardiac morphology and function.
- Fetal HQ is a promising technique for early detection of cardiac changes in fetuses of mothers infected with COVID-19.
Objectives:
Due to the government's liberalization of epidemic control, the current 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has started to spread widely within China. This study aimed to use the fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) technique to assess the cardiac function and morphology of the fetuses of pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 in the early stages of pregnancy.
Methods:
Exactly 86 pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 infection in early pregnancy (COVID-19 group) and 90 healthy pregnant women (control group) who underwent fetal echocardiography were prospectively included in this study. The fetal HQ technique was applied to compare the differences in the global sphericity index (GSI), global strain values (GS), fractional area change (FAC), and 24-segment fractional shortening (FS) of the left and right ventricles, between the COVID-19 group and the control group.
Results:
Compared with the control group, the differences in GS and 24-segment FS of the left ventricle in the COVID-19 group were not statistically significant. However, the COVID-19 group showed lower GSI values compared with the control group (1.24 vs 1.28). FAC (48.12%) of the left ventricle and GS (-23.55%), FAC (41.74%) of the right ventricle in the COVID-19 group were reduced compared with FAC (50.50%) of the left ventricle and GS (-27.63%), FAC (46.01%) of the right ventricle in the control group. Segmental analysis revealed reduced FS in segments 20-24 in the COVID-19 group compared with the control group. Right ventricular GS was an independent predictor of adverse pregnancy outcome with an optimal cutoff value of -18.66%.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that COVID-19 infection in early pregnancy may have a negative impact on fetal cardiac morphology and function. Fetal HQ may offer a new assessment method for the early identification of fetal cardiac alterations in pregnant women infected with COVID-19.
