Magnetocardiography in the evaluation of fetuses at risk for sudden cardiac death before birth. J Electrocardiol 2008;41(2):116.e1-6
Date
03/11/2008Pubmed ID
18328335Pubmed Central ID
PMC3464492DOI
10.1016/j.jelectrocard.2007.12.010Scopus ID
2-s2.0-39849097334 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 13 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that fetuses at risk for sudden death may have abnormal conduction or depolarization, ischemia, or abnormal heart rate variability (HRV) detectable by magnetocardiography.
METHODS: Using a 37-channel biomagnetometer, we evaluated 3 groups of fetuses at risk for sudden death: group 1, critical aortic stenosis (AS); group 2, arrhythmias; and group 3, heart failure and in utero demise. Five to 10 recordings of 10-minute duration were recorded, and signal was averaged to determine rhythm, conduction intervals, HRV, and T-wave morphology.
RESULTS: In group 1, 2 of 3 had atrial and ventricular strain patterns. In (n = 53) group 2, 15% had prolonged QTc and 17% had T-wave alternans (TWA). Of 23 group 2 fetuses with atrioventricular block, 74% had ventricular ectopy, 21% had junctional ectopic tachycardia, and 29% had ventricular tachycardia. Group 3 (n = 2) had abnormal HRV and TWA.
CONCLUSION: Repolarization abnormalities, unexpected arrhythmias, and abnormal HRV suggest an arrhythmogenic mechanism for "sudden cardiac death before birth."
Author List
Cuneo BF, Strasburger JF, Wakai RTAuthor
Janette F. Strasburger MD Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Death, Sudden, CardiacFemale
Fetal Death
Fetal Monitoring
Humans
Incidence
Magnetocardiography
Male
Reproducibility of Results
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sensitivity and Specificity
Survival Analysis
Survival Rate
United States
