Abstract
Objectives: Much less attention has been given to the right
heart and pulmonary circulation compared to the left heart and systemic
circulation in patients with pre-eclampsia (PEC). We used transthoracic
echocardiography (TTE) to estimate pulmonary artery pressure and right
ventricular function in women with PEC.
Methods: A case-control study at a tertiary care academic
center. Ten early PEC (<34 week gestation) and nine late PEC
(≥34 weeks gestation) patients with eleven early and ten late
gestational age-matched controls. Two dimensional TTE was performed on
all patients. The estimated mean PA pressure (eMPAP) was calculated
based on pulmonary artery acceleration time (PAAT). Pulmonary vascular
resistance (ePVR) was estimated from eMPAP and right ventricular (RV)
cardiac output. RV myocardial performance index (RV MPI), tricuspid
annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), tissue tricuspid annular
displacement (TTAD) and lateral tricuspid annular tissue peak systolic
velocity (S’) were measured.