Subclinical Decrease in Myocardial Function in Asymptomatic Infants of Diabetic Mothers: A Tissue Doppler Study.

Infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are recognized to have impaired myocardial performance, but less is known about ventricular function in IDMs without hypertrophy. We hypothesized that in asymptomatic newborns with normal two-dimensional echocardiographic evaluations, pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) would suggest a subclinical decrease in the cardiac function of IDMs compared to infants of non-diabetics (nIDMs). This is a retrospective cohort study of asymptomatic neonates ≥36 weeks gestation, at 0-7 days of life, with normal standard echocardiograms.