PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nii, M AU - Hamilton, R M AU - Fenwick, L AU - Kingdom, J C P AU - Roman, K S AU - Jaeggi, E T TI - Assessment of fetal atrioventricular time intervals by tissue Doppler and pulse Doppler echocardiography: normal values and correlation with fetal electrocardiography AID - 10.1136/hrt.2006.093070 DP - 2006 Dec 01 TA - Heart PG - 1831--1837 VI - 92 IP - 12 4099 - http://heart.bmj.com/content/92/12/1831.short 4100 - http://heart.bmj.com/content/92/12/1831.full SO - Heart2006 Dec 01; 92 AB - Objective: To establish gestational age-specific reference values of normal fetal atrioventricular (AV) time interval by spectral tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and pulse-wave Doppler (PD) methods, and to assess their correlation with signal-averaged fetal PR intervals (ECG). Design: Cohort study. Setting: Tertiary centre for fetal cardiology. Patients and measures: 131 pregnant women between 14 and 42 weeks’ gestation underwent 196 fetal echocardiograms and 158 fetal ECG studies. TDI-derived AV intervals were measured as the intervals from atrial contraction (Aa) to isovolumic contraction (IV) and from Aa to ventricular systole (Sa) at the right ventricular free wall. PD-derived AV intervals were measured from simultaneous left ventricular inflow/outflow (in/out) and superior vena cava/aorta (V/AO) recordings. Results: Measurements were possible by ECG in 61%, by TDI in 100%, by in/out in 100% and by V/AO in 97% of examinations. Aa-IV correlated significantly better with PR intervals (y  =  0.67x + 38.29, R2 =  0.15, p < 0.0001, mean bias 8.0 ms) than did in/out (R2  =  0.10, p  =  0.002, bias 18.7 ms) and V/AO (R2  =  0.06, p  =  0.02, bias 12.4 ms). Gestational age and AV intervals were positively correlated with all imaging modalities (R2  =  0.19–0.31, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed the feasibility of fetal AV interval measurements by TDI, and established gestational age-specific reference data. TDI-derived Aa-IV intervals track ECG PR intervals more closely than PD-derived AV intervals and thus should be used as the ultrasound method of choice in assessing fetal AV conduction.