All issues > Volume 37(5); 1994

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1994;37(5):606-611. Published online May 15, 1994.

Normal Fetal echocardiography

Seock Joong SJ Yoon¹, Sung Jin SJ Hong¹, Hyung Gu HG Cho¹, Jung Wan JW Yoo¹, Dong Chul DC Park¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kon Kuk University, Chung Ju, Korea

Abstract

Fetal echocardiography is used by means of decleration of fetal cardiac anaxtomy, to estabilish the diagnosis of congenital heart disease in utero. We attemped fetal echocardiography to ninty three pregnant women after intra uterine period 24 weeks, and estimated cardiac circumference, cardiac axis, pulmonary atery root diameter, arortic root diameter, diameter of inferior vena cava, diameterof superior vena cava, and fractional shortening of ventricles. We studied how these estimates associate with following gestational ages. Cardiac axis was on the average 37.28 degree and cardiac apex was located in anterior left side of chest area. Aortic root diameter was 0.227 GA - 0.043mm (GA=gestational age) at systolic phase, 0.203 GA + 0.421mm at diastolic phase. Pulmonary root diameter was 0.271 GA - 0.029mm at sytolic phase, 0.251 GA - 0.067mm at diastolic phase,. Thoracic aorta diameter was 0.195 GA + 0.109mm at systolic phase, 0.198 GA + 0.794mm at diastolic phase. Fractional shortening was 0.24 (1 Standard Deviation = 0.11) in right ventricle, 0.23 (1 SD=0.154) at left ventricle, and so ratio of right and left ventricle was 1.04 (1 SD=0.51). Once normal fetal cardiac anatomy is understood, structural defects and/or alternation of function can be evaluated antenatally.

Keywords :Fetal echocardiography, Normal data