Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital Boston, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2012 Jan;25(1):105-11. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2011.09.016. Epub 2011 Oct 26.
Echocardiography with speckle tracking is a novel, angle-independent technique for assessing global and regional cardiac function. Normal data on longitudinal strain have been reported for human fetuses. The aim of this study was to define circumferential left ventricular (LV) strain in a normal fetal population.
Singleton fetuses between 17 and 42 weeks in gestational age with no adverse maternal health issues or fetal abnormalities were studied. Regional and averaged cardiac strain were measured using syngo Velocity Vector Imaging software.
Data from 81 fetuses were analyzed (mean gestational age, 29.2 ± 5.7 weeks). Overall, average midventricular circumferential strain was 18.7 ± 3.3%, LV longitudinal strain was 15.2 ± 2.7%, and right ventricular longitudinal strain was 16.0 ± 3.3%, with no correlation with gestational age.
This is the first study to report normal fetal LV circumferential strain. These data may be useful as a reference for assessing fetal cardiac function. The retrospective study design and relatively low frame rates used in this study were important limitations.
超声心动图斑点追踪技术是一种新颖的、与角度无关的评估整体和局部心脏功能的方法。已有关于人胎儿纵向应变的正常数据的报道。本研究旨在定义正常胎儿人群中的左心室（LV）圆周应变。
研究了 81 例胎龄在 17 周至 42 周之间、无不良母婴健康问题或胎儿异常的单胎胎儿。使用 syngo Velocity Vector Imaging 软件测量局部和平均心脏应变。
分析了 81 例胎儿的数据（平均孕龄为 29.2±5.7 周）。总体而言，平均心室中部圆周应变 18.7±3.3%，LV 纵向应变 15.2±2.7%，右心室纵向应变 16.0±3.3%，与孕龄无相关性。
这是第一项报告正常胎儿 LV 圆周应变的研究。这些数据可能有助于评估胎儿心脏功能。本研究采用回顾性研究设计，帧频相对较低，这是重要的局限性。
