Greggory R DeVore1,2, Berthold Klas2, Gary Satou3, Mark Sklansky4. 1. Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA. 2. Fetal Diagnostic Centers, Pasadena, Tarzana, and Lancaster, California, USA. 3. TomTec Imaging Systems GmbH, Munich, Germany. 4. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Mattel Children's Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Because of various fetal and maternal disease states, this study was conducted to evaluate the fractional shortening of 24 transverse segments distributed from the base to the apex of the ventricular chambers. METHODS: Two hundred control fetuses were examined between 20 and 40 weeks' gestation. The transverse displacement of the ventricular endocardium during the cardiac cycle was computed by using offline software. From the output of the analysis, 24 end-diastolic and end-systolic segments were measured from the base (segment 1) to the apex (segment 24) of the right and left ventricles, and the fractional shortening was computed: [(end-diastolic length - end-systolic length)/end-diastolic length] × 100. Examples of fetal cardiovascular abnormalities were selected to demonstrate the utility of this technique. RESULTS: The fractional shortening for each segment was independent of gestational age and fetal biometric measurements. There was no significant difference in fractional shortening for segments 1 to 5 between the right and left ventricles. However, the fractional shortening of the left ventricle was significantly greater (P < .0001) than that of the right ventricle for segments 6 to 24, suggesting that the mid and apical segments of the left ventricle have increased displacement toward the center of the chamber compared to the right ventricle. Fetuses with various cardiac structural abnormalities had abnormal fractional shortening values. CONCLUSIONS: The fractional shortening of 24 segments of the right and left ventricles provides a comprehensive method to examine the contractility of the ventricular chambers.
OBJECTIVES: Because of various fetal and maternal disease states, this study was conducted to evaluate the fractional shortening of 24 transverse segments distributed from the base to the apex of the ventricular chambers. METHODS: Two hundred control fetuses were examined between 20 and 40 weeks' gestation. The transverse displacement of the ventricular endocardium during the cardiac cycle was computed by using offline software. From the output of the analysis, 24 end-diastolic and end-systolic segments were measured from the base (segment 1) to the apex (segment 24) of the right and left ventricles, and the fractional shortening was computed: [(end-diastolic length - end-systolic length)/end-diastolic length] × 100. Examples of fetal cardiovascular abnormalities were selected to demonstrate the utility of this technique. RESULTS: The fractional shortening for each segment was independent of gestational age and fetal biometric measurements. There was no significant difference in fractional shortening for segments 1 to 5 between the right and left ventricles. However, the fractional shortening of the left ventricle was significantly greater (P < .0001) than that of the right ventricle for segments 6 to 24, suggesting that the mid and apical segments of the left ventricle have increased displacement toward the center of the chamber compared to the right ventricle. Fetuses with various cardiac structural abnormalities had abnormal fractional shortening values. CONCLUSIONS: The fractional shortening of 24 segments of the right and left ventricles provides a comprehensive method to examine the contractility of the ventricular chambers.
Authors: Jing Ma; Haiyan Cao; Liu Hong; Juanjuan Liu; Xiaoyan Song; Jiawei Shi; Yi Zhang; Li Cui; Li Zhang; Mingxing Xie Journal: Front Cardiovasc Med Date: 2022-07-26