Bioimpedance cardiography in pregnancy: A longitudinal cohort study on hemodynamic pattern and outcome.

Background: Pregnancy associated cardiovascular pathologies have a significant impact on outcome for mother and child. Bioimpedance cardiography may provide additional outcome-relevant information early in pregnancy and may also be used as a predictive instrument for pregnancy-associated diseases.

Methods: We performed a prospective longitudinal cohort trial in an outpatient setting and included 242 pregnant women.

Music-induced prolongation of heart rate corrected QT intervals from electrocardiogram recordings of healthy preterm pregnant women.

Aim: Women do have longer QTc intervals compared to men. The aim of this study was to investigate as-yet undocumented effects of music on QTc intervals from electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings compared to various cardiovascular parameters of women in the prenatal phase.

Methods: Forty-four healthy women in pregnancy were exposed to quiet surroundings (Q), self-selected slow music (S), and investigator-provided fast music (F) with different rhythm and frequency characteristics for 3 min each during their routine cardiotocography investigation.

NT-proBNP is increased in healthy pregnancies compared to non-pregnant controls.

Serum concentrations of the amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may be used to monitor cardiac function during pregnancy but normal values are not established for this purpose. Therefore, we investigated NT-proBNP in normotensive healthy pregnancies compared to a non-pregnant control group. Serum NT-proBNP was measured in 94 normotensive, healthy pregnant women (32+/-6 years) every five weeks beginning from 12th gestational week (GW) in a longitudinal study and compared to a non-pregnant control group of 521 women (32+/-7 years).