Transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of haemodynamics in severe pre-eclampsia and HIV in South Africa

Abstract

Haemodynamic and cardiac structural changes in severe pre-eclampsia and in pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have not been clearly established. We performed transthoracic echocardiography on 105 women. Women with pre-eclampsia demonstrated (mean (SD), untreated vs treated) preserved fractional shortening (40 (7.1)% vs 41 (8.6)%), a non-dilated left ventricle (4.5 (0.49) cm vs 4.4 (0.44) cm), increased mitral valve E/septal e′ (10.5 (3.3) vs 10.6 (2.8)), and preserved tricuspid annular plane systolic exertion (2.6 (0.36) cm vs 2.4 (0.51) cm). Women with HIV infection demonstrated (mean (SD), HIV-positive vs healthy) a reduced cardiac index (2.8 (0.64) ml.min-1.m..