Fetal Heart
Heart Rate, Fetal
Fetal Monitoring
Physiologic or biochemical monitoring of the fetus. It is usually done during LABOR, OBSTETRIC and may be performed in conjunction with the monitoring of uterine activity. It may also be performed prenatally as when the mother is undergoing surgery.
Cardiotocography
Heart Rate
The number of times the HEART VENTRICLES contract per unit of time, usually per minute.
Ultrasonography, Prenatal
Heart Defects, Congenital
Developmental abnormalities involving structures of the heart. These defects are present at birth but may be discovered later in life.
Pregnancy
Echocardiography, Four-Dimensional
Dynamic three-dimensional echocardiography using the added dimension of time to impart the cinematic perception of motion. (Mayo Clin Proc 1993;68:221-40)
Fetal Movement
Physical activity of the FETUS in utero. Gross or fine fetal body movement can be monitored by the mother, PALPATION, or ULTRASONOGRAPHY.
Gestational Age
The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated as the time from the last day of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization.
Fetal Diseases
Pathophysiological conditions of the FETUS in the UTERUS. Some fetal diseases may be treated with FETAL THERAPIES.
Fetal Distress
A nonreassuring fetal status (NRFS) indicating that the FETUS is compromised (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 1988). It can be identified by sub-optimal values in FETAL HEART RATE; oxygenation of FETAL BLOOD; and other parameters.
Umbilical Arteries
Specialized arterial vessels in the umbilical cord. They carry waste and deoxygenated blood from the FETUS to the mother via the PLACENTA. In humans, there are usually two umbilical arteries but sometimes one.
Fetus
Heart Failure
A heterogeneous condition in which the heart is unable to pump out sufficient blood to meet the metabolic need of the body. Heart failure can be caused by structural defects, functional abnormalities (VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION), or a sudden overload beyond its capacity. Chronic heart failure is more common than acute heart failure which results from sudden insult to cardiac function, such as MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION.
Heart Block
Impaired conduction of cardiac impulse that can occur anywhere along the conduction pathway, such as between the SINOATRIAL NODE and the right atrium (SA block) or between atria and ventricles (AV block). Heart blocks can be classified by the duration, frequency, or completeness of conduction block. Reversibility depends on the degree of structural or functional defects.
Pregnancy Trimester, Second
The middle third of a human PREGNANCY, from the beginning of the 15th through the 28th completed week (99 to 196 days) of gestation.
Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional
Echocardiography amplified by the addition of depth to the conventional two-dimensional ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY visualizing only the length and width of the heart. Three-dimensional ultrasound imaging was first described in 1961 but its application to echocardiography did not take place until 1974. (Mayo Clin Proc 1993;68:221-40)
Heart Diseases
Pathological conditions involving the HEART including its structural and functional abnormalities.
Magnetocardiography
The measurement of magnetic fields generated by electric currents from the heart. The measurement of these fields provides information which is complementary to that provided by ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY.
Ultrasonography, Doppler
Ultrasonography applying the Doppler effect, with frequency-shifted ultrasound reflections produced by moving targets (usually red blood cells) in the bloodstream along the ultrasound axis in direct proportion to the velocity of movement of the targets, to determine both direction and velocity of blood flow. (Stedman, 25th ed)
Heart Transplantation
The transference of a heart from one human or animal to another.
Pregnancy Trimester, Third
The last third of a human PREGNANCY, from the beginning of the 29th through the 42nd completed week (197 to 294 days) of gestation.
Heart Valves
Flaps of tissue that prevent regurgitation of BLOOD from the HEART VENTRICLES to the HEART ATRIA or from the PULMONARY ARTERIES or AORTA to the ventricles.
Pregnancy Trimester, First
The beginning third of a human PREGNANCY, from the first day of the last normal menstrual period (MENSTRUATION) through the completion of 14 weeks (98 days) of gestation.
Labor, Obstetric
The repetitive uterine contraction during childbirth which is associated with the progressive dilation of the uterine cervix (CERVIX UTERI). Successful labor results in the expulsion of the FETUS and PLACENTA. Obstetric labor can be spontaneous or induced (LABOR, INDUCED).
Myocardium
The muscle tissue of the HEART. It is composed of striated, involuntary muscle cells (MYOCYTES, CARDIAC) connected to form the contractile pump to generate blood flow.
Cardiac Volume
The volume of the HEART, usually relating to the volume of BLOOD contained within it at various periods of the cardiac cycle. The amount of blood ejected from a ventricle at each beat is STROKE VOLUME.
Bradycardia
Cardiac arrhythmias that are characterized by excessively slow HEART RATE, usually below 50 beats per minute in human adults. They can be classified broadly into SINOATRIAL NODE dysfunction and ATRIOVENTRICULAR BLOCK.
Pregnancy Outcome
Results of conception and ensuing pregnancy, including LIVE BIRTH; STILLBIRTH; SPONTANEOUS ABORTION; INDUCED ABORTION. The outcome may follow natural or artificial insemination or any of the various ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUES, such as EMBRYO TRANSFER or FERTILIZATION IN VITRO.
Echocardiography
Ultrasonic recording of the size, motion, and composition of the heart and surrounding tissues. The standard approach is transthoracic.
Abortion, Threatened
Prenatal Diagnosis
Determination of the nature of a pathological condition or disease in the postimplantation EMBRYO; FETUS; or pregnant female before birth.
Maternal-Fetal Exchange
Exchange of substances between the maternal blood and the fetal blood at the PLACENTA via PLACENTAL CIRCULATION. The placental barrier excludes microbial or viral transmission.
Sheep
Blood Flow Velocity
Heart Atria
The chambers of the heart, to which the BLOOD returns from the circulation.
Apgar Score
A method, developed by Dr. Virginia Apgar, to evaluate a newborn's adjustment to extrauterine life. Five items - heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color - are evaluated 60 seconds after birth and again five minutes later on a scale from 0-2, 0 being the lowest, 2 being normal. The five numbers are added for the Apgar score. A score of 0-3 represents severe distress, 4-7 indicates moderate distress, and a score of 7-10 predicts an absence of difficulty in adjusting to extrauterine life.
Myocytes, Cardiac
Striated muscle cells found in the heart. They are derived from cardiac myoblasts (MYOBLASTS, CARDIAC).
Echocardiography, Doppler, Color
Fetal Growth Retardation
Prospective Studies
Myocardial Contraction
Contractile activity of the MYOCARDIUM.
Hemodynamics
The movement and the forces involved in the movement of the blood through the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM.
Perinatology
The branch of medicine dealing with the fetus and infant during the perinatal period. The perinatal period begins with the twenty-eighth week of gestation and ends twenty-eight days after birth. (From Dorland, 27th ed)
Crown-Rump Length
In utero measurement corresponding to the sitting height (crown to rump) of the fetus. Length is considered a more accurate criterion of the age of the fetus than is the weight. The average crown-rump length of the fetus at term is 36 cm. (From Williams Obstetrics, 18th ed, p91)
Electronics, Medical
Heart Septum
This structure includes the thin muscular atrial septum between the two HEART ATRIA, and the thick muscular ventricular septum between the two HEART VENTRICLES.
Pregnancy Complications
Analgesia, Obstetrical
Pregnancy, High-Risk
Pregnancy in which the mother and/or FETUS are at greater than normal risk of MORBIDITY or MORTALITY. Causes include inadequate PRENATAL CARE, previous obstetrical history (ABORTION, SPONTANEOUS), pre-existing maternal disease, pregnancy-induced disease (GESTATIONAL HYPERTENSION), and MULTIPLE PREGNANCY, as well as advanced maternal age above 35.
Placental Circulation
The circulation of BLOOD, of both the mother and the FETUS, through the PLACENTA.
Anesthesia, Obstetrical
Cardiomegaly
Enlargement of the HEART, usually indicated by a cardiothoracic ratio above 0.50. Heart enlargement may involve the right, the left, or both HEART VENTRICLES or HEART ATRIA. Cardiomegaly is a nonspecific symptom seen in patients with chronic systolic heart failure (HEART FAILURE) or several forms of CARDIOMYOPATHIES.
Heart Auscultation
Act of listening for sounds within the heart.
Tocolytic Agents
Drugs that prevent preterm labor and immature birth by suppressing uterine contractions (TOCOLYSIS). Agents used to delay premature uterine activity include magnesium sulfate, beta-mimetics, oxytocin antagonists, calcium channel inhibitors, and adrenergic beta-receptor agonists. The use of intravenous alcohol as a tocolytic is now obsolete.
Heart Arrest, Induced
A procedure to stop the contraction of MYOCARDIUM during HEART SURGERY. It is usually achieved with the use of chemicals (CARDIOPLEGIC SOLUTIONS) or cold temperature (such as chilled perfusate).
Heart Function Tests
Examinations used to diagnose and treat heart conditions.
Umbilical Cord
Sheep, Domestic
A species of sheep, Ovis aries, descended from Near Eastern wild forms, especially mouflon.
Cesarean Section
Extraction of the FETUS by means of abdominal HYSTEROTOMY.
Down Syndrome
A chromosome disorder associated either with an extra chromosome 21 or an effective trisomy for chromosome 21. Clinical manifestations include hypotonia, short stature, brachycephaly, upslanting palpebral fissures, epicanthus, Brushfield spots on the iris, protruding tongue, small ears, short, broad hands, fifth finger clinodactyly, Simian crease, and moderate to severe INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. Cardiac and gastrointestinal malformations, a marked increase in the incidence of LEUKEMIA, and the early onset of ALZHEIMER DISEASE are also associated with this condition. Pathologic features include the development of NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES in neurons and the deposition of AMYLOID BETA-PROTEIN, similar to the pathology of ALZHEIMER DISEASE. (Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p213)
Sufentanil
Sensitivity and Specificity
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color
Ultrasonography applying the Doppler effect, with the superposition of flow information as colors on a gray scale in a real-time image. This type of ultrasonography is well-suited to identifying the location of high-velocity flow (such as in a stenosis) or of mapping the extent of flow in a certain region.
Feasibility Studies
Tachycardia
Abnormally rapid heartbeat, usually with a HEART RATE above 100 beats per minute for adults. Tachycardia accompanied by disturbance in the cardiac depolarization (cardiac arrhythmia) is called tachyarrhythmia.
Myocardial Ischemia
A disorder of cardiac function caused by insufficient blood flow to the muscle tissue of the heart. The decreased blood flow may be due to narrowing of the coronary arteries (CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE), to obstruction by a thrombus (CORONARY THROMBOSIS), or less commonly, to diffuse narrowing of arterioles and other small vessels within the heart. Severe interruption of the blood supply to the myocardial tissue may result in necrosis of cardiac muscle (MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION).
Reproducibility of Results
The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.
Ultrasonography
Heart Ventricles
The lower right and left chambers of the heart. The right ventricle pumps venous BLOOD into the LUNGS and the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood into the systemic arterial circulation.
Fetal Death
Death of the developing young in utero. BIRTH of a dead FETUS is STILLBIRTH.
Reference Values
Pregnancy in Diabetics
Obstetrics
A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.
Data Display
Echocardiography, Doppler
Meconium
The thick green-to-black mucilaginous material found in the intestines of a full-term fetus. It consists of secretions of the INTESTINAL GLANDS; BILE PIGMENTS; FATTY ACIDS; AMNIOTIC FLUID; and intrauterine debris. It constitutes the first stools passed by a newborn.
Risk Factors
Delivery, Obstetric
Delivery of the FETUS and PLACENTA under the care of an obstetrician or a health worker. Obstetric deliveries may involve physical, psychological, medical, or surgical interventions.
Coronary Disease
An imbalance between myocardial functional requirements and the capacity of the CORONARY VESSELS to supply sufficient blood flow. It is a form of MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA (insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle) caused by a decreased capacity of the coronary vessels.
Obstetric Labor Complications
Medical problems associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR, such as BREECH PRESENTATION; PREMATURE OBSTETRIC LABOR; HEMORRHAGE; or others. These complications can affect the well-being of the mother, the FETUS, or both.
Vascular Malformations
A spectrum of congenital, inherited, or acquired abnormalities in BLOOD VESSELS that can adversely affect the normal blood flow in ARTERIES or VEINS. Most are congenital defects such as abnormal communications between blood vessels (fistula), shunting of arterial blood directly into veins bypassing the CAPILLARIES (arteriovenous malformations), formation of large dilated blood blood-filled vessels (cavernous angioma), and swollen capillaries (capillary telangiectases). In rare cases, vascular malformations can result from trauma or diseases.
Chromosome Disorders
Nuchal Translucency Measurement
A prenatal ultrasonography measurement of the soft tissue behind the fetal neck. Either the translucent area below the skin in the back of the fetal neck (nuchal translucency) or the distance between occipital bone to the outer skin line (nuchal fold) is measured.
Hydrops Fetalis
Fetal Weight
The weight of the FETUS in utero. It is usually estimated by various formulas based on measurements made during PRENATAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY.
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Cardiac Output, Low
A state of subnormal or depressed cardiac output at rest or during stress. It is a characteristic of CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, including congenital, valvular, rheumatic, hypertensive, coronary, and cardiomyopathic. The serious form of low cardiac output is characterized by marked reduction in STROKE VOLUME, and systemic vasoconstriction resulting in cold, pale, and sometimes cyanotic extremities.
Ventricular Function, Left
Systole
Oxytocics
Drugs that stimulate contraction of the myometrium. They are used to induce LABOR, OBSTETRIC at term, to prevent or control postpartum or postabortion hemorrhage, and to assess fetal status in high risk pregnancies. They may also be used alone or with other drugs to induce abortions (ABORTIFACIENTS). Oxytocics used clinically include the neurohypophyseal hormone OXYTOCIN and certain prostaglandins and ergot alkaloids. (From AMA Drug Evaluations, 1994, p1157)
Pulsatile Flow
Retrospective Studies
Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.
RNA, Messenger
RNA sequences that serve as templates for protein synthesis. Bacterial mRNAs are generally primary transcripts in that they do not require post-transcriptional processing. Eukaryotic mRNA is synthesized in the nucleus and must be exported to the cytoplasm for translation. Most eukaryotic mRNAs have a sequence of polyadenylic acid at the 3' end, referred to as the poly(A) tail. The function of this tail is not known for certain, but it may play a role in the export of mature mRNA from the nucleus as well as in helping stabilize some mRNA molecules by retarding their degradation in the cytoplasm.
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Heart, Artificial
Heart Failure, Systolic
Heart failure caused by abnormal myocardial contraction during SYSTOLE leading to defective cardiac emptying.
Predictive Value of Tests
In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.
Abortion, Spontaneous
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
Cardiovascular System
The HEART and the BLOOD VESSELS by which BLOOD is pumped and circulated through the body.
Monitoring, Physiologic
The continuous measurement of physiological processes, blood pressure, heart rate, renal output, reflexes, respiration, etc., in a patient or experimental animal; includes pharmacologic monitoring, the measurement of administered drugs or their metabolites in the blood, tissues, or urine.
Cardiomyopathy, Dilated
A form of CARDIAC MUSCLE disease that is characterized by ventricular dilation, VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION, and HEART FAILURE. Risk factors include SMOKING; ALCOHOL DRINKING; HYPERTENSION; INFECTION; PREGNANCY; and mutations in the LMNA gene encoding LAMIN TYPE A, a NUCLEAR LAMINA protein.
Myocardial Infarction
NECROSIS of the MYOCARDIUM caused by an obstruction of the blood supply to the heart (CORONARY CIRCULATION).
Maternal Age
The age of the mother in PREGNANCY.
Turner Syndrome
A syndrome of defective gonadal development in phenotypic females associated with the karyotype 45,X (or 45,XO). Patients generally are of short stature with undifferentiated GONADS (streak gonads), SEXUAL INFANTILISM, HYPOGONADISM, webbing of the neck, cubitus valgus, elevated GONADOTROPINS, decreased ESTRADIOL level in blood, and CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS. NOONAN SYNDROME (also called Pseudo-Turner Syndrome and Male Turner Syndrome) resembles this disorder; however, it occurs in males and females with a normal karyotype and is inherited as an autosomal dominant.
Heart Injuries
General or unspecified injuries to the heart.