Premium
Embryonal heart rate as a predictor of pregnancy outcome: a prospective analysis.
Author(s) -
May D A,
Sturtevant N V
Publication year - 1991
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.1991.10.10.591
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , gestation , concordance , heart rate , prospective cohort study , obstetrics , gestational age , gynecology , blood pressure , genetics , biology
To evaluate the association between embryonal heart rate and pregnancy outcome, we prospectively followed 50 very early pregnancies (4.5 to 7.3 weeks of gestation) through the first trimester. Of the 11 embryos that miscarried, 6 had initial heart rates below 85 beats per minute (bpm); in contrast, none of the viable embryos had initial heart rates of or below 85 bpm (P less than 0.0001). A rise in mean heart rate was seen among the viable embryos with increasing gestational age, in concordance with previously reported rates.