Fetal myocardial hypertrophy in an experimental model of gestational diabetes.

Introduction: The frequent occurrence of prenatal hypertrophy of the muscular ventricular septum has been widely reported in fetuses of diabetic mothers.

Objectives: This experimental study was carried out to test the hypothesis that the weight of the heart, the ratio of the cardiac weight to that of the body, the thickness of the muscular ventricular septum, and the myocytic profile within the ventricular septum are all increased in fetuses of diabetic rats in comparison to fetuses of normal rats.

Methods: Diabetes was induced in 5 pregnant Wistar rats, bearing 30 fetuses, on the eighth day after conception, by intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg of streptozotocin.

Mobility of the flap valve of the primary atrial septum in the developing human fetus.

It has already been suggested that redundancy of the primary atrial septum could be associated with primary fetal arrhythmias. There are few reports, however, concerning the mobility of the primary septum and its behavior during fetal life. In this study, fifteen fetuses without anatomic heart disease were serially evaluated by fetal echocardiography.

Surgical repair of ventricular aneurysms. Early results with Cooley's technique.

Using bovine pericardium instead of Dacron for grafting, we performed ventricular endoaneurysmorrhaphy (Cooley's technique) in 13 patients with postmyocardial infarction left ventricular aneurysm. Twelve patients were men and 1 was a woman; their ages ranged from 38 to 67 years (mean, 51.2 +/- 11.

Incorporating knowledge to databases--a solution to complex domains.

This paper describes the design of an integrated environment to handle information on congenital heart disease patients. A three-layer model that integrates a database, a knowledge-base and a graphical user-interface is presented. The role of each layer and its connections is discussed.

Role of prenatal echocardiography in the study of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the fetus.

The increased incidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in children of diabetic mothers has already been demonstrated, but its prenatal diagnosis has not yet been extensively studied. The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the frequency, severity, and echocardiographic features of fetal hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a population with several indications for prenatal echocardiography. From March 1987 to April 1991, 283 fetuses were submitted to comprehensive prenatal echocardiography, including M-mode measurements, cross-sectional imaging, Doppler studies, and color flow mapping.

Cardiac tamponade due to chylopericardium after cardiac surgery.

Chylopericardium as an isolated complication after open-heart surgery is a rare event. We present here a case of postoperative chylopericardium with cardiac tamponade and comment on the clinical course and treatment.