Abstract
Objective: To explore maternal cardiac deceleration capacity (DC), a marker of autonomic function derived from electrocardiographic (ECG) signals, in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) associated to IUGR (HDP-IUGR) or to appropriate for gestational age fetal growth (HDP-AGAf). Methods: Prospective single center case-control study conducted at Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan. Maternal ECGs were analyzed by Phase Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) method to obtain cardiac DC in women with: HDP-IUGR, HDP-AGAf, severe-IUGR, mild-IUGR and uncomplicated pregnancies. IUGR was defined as abdominal circumference <5th centile;severe-IUGR was associated with umbilical artery Doppler pulsatility index >2 standard deviations. Non-parametric tests were adopted. Results: 269 women were recruited. Women with HDP-IUGR (n = 35) showed significantly higher cardiac DC compared both to controls (n = 141) (p = 0.003) and women with HDP-AGAf (n = 18) (p = 0.01). Women with severe-IUGR (n = 14) showed significantly higher DC than controls (p = 0.01). Women with mild-IUGR (n = 61) as well as women with HDP-AGAf showed no differences in DC compared to controls (both p = 0.3). Conclusions: Women with pregnancy complicated by severe placental failure, such as HDP-IUGR and severe IUGR, show significant autonomic alterations, as indicated by elevated cardiac DC. On the contrary, pregnancy complications such as HDP-AGAf and mild IUGR show no impact on maternal autonomic balance. We present a new approach to explore maternal autonomic cardiovascular regulation that might reflect the severity of placental vascular insufficiency. (C) 2016 ELSEVIER. All rights reserved.
Item Type: | Journal article |
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Faculties: | Medicine |
Subjects: | 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health |
ISSN: | 0301-2115 |
Language: | English |
Item ID: | 44207 |
Date Deposited: | 27. Apr 2018, 08:05 |
Last Modified: | 04. Nov 2020, 13:20 |