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First trimester bradycardia. A sign of impending fetal loss.
Author(s) -
Laboda L A,
Estroff J A,
Benacerraf B R
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.7863/jum.1989.8.10.561
Subject(s) - medicine , bradycardia , first trimester , miscarriage , pregnancy , fetus , obstetrics , fetal heart rate , fetal heart , heart rate , cardiology , blood pressure , biology , genetics
Normal first trimester fetal heart rates rise from an average of 100 beats per minute (bpm) at 5 to 6 weeks to 140 bpm at 8 to 9 weeks. The heart rates of 65 consecutive first trimester fetuses between 5+ and 8+ weeks were measured to determine whether unusually slow first trimester fetal heartbeats are associated with a poor outcome. All five pregnancies in which heart rates were below 85 ended in spontaneous miscarriage. This study suggests that first trimester bradycardia may be associated with a poor prognosis for the pregnancy.