Echocardiographic study of the left ventricle and interventricular septum in infants of diabetic mothers

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to study by means of echocardiography the septal thickness, the septal-free wall ratio, and the left ventricular performance; and to correlate the findings with the level of NBA, [glycosylated hemoglobin] in the maternal blood. The study was carried out on15 infants of diabetic mothers [IDMs] who were subdivided into subgroups A and B according to the level of [HBA2] in maternal blood and 15 normal infants of non-dibetic mothers [control group]. All IDMs and control subjects were subjected to detailed history taking, thorough clinical examination, measurement of maternal HBA1 and echocardiographic examination. The results denoted a high cardiac output in botrh subgroups of IDMs with no significant difference between them. Asymmetric septal hypertrophy and increased left ventricular mass were found in both groups of IDMs, the later being more pronounced in the poorly controlled subgroup B, A hypercontractile state was also present in subgroup B IDMs