Preeclampsia associated differences in the placenta, fetal brain, and maternal heart can be demonstrated antenatally: an observational cohort study using MRI
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a multiorgan disease of pregnancy that has short- and long-term implications for the woman and fetus, whose immediate impact is poorly understood. We present a novel multiorgan approach to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigation of preeclampsia, with the acquisition of maternal cardiac, placental, and fetal brain anatomic and functional imaging. METHODS: An observational study was performed recruiting 3 groups of pregnant women: those with preeclampsia, chronic hypertension, or no medical complications. All women underwent a cardiac MRI, and pregnant women underwent a placental-fetal MRI. Cardiac analysis for structural, morphological, and flow data were undertaken; placenta and fetal brain volumetric and T2* (which describes relative tissue oxygenation) data were obtained. All results were corrected for gestational age. A nonpregnant cohort was identified for inclusion in the statistical shape analysis. RESULTS: Seventy-eight MRIs were obtained during pregnancy. Cardiac MRI analysis demonstrated higher left ventricular mass in preeclampsia with 3-dimensional modeling revealing additional specific characteristics of eccentricity and outflow track remodeling. Pregnancies affected by preeclampsia demonstrated lower placental and fetal brain T2*. Within the preeclampsia group, 23% placental T2* results were consistent with controls, these were the only cases with normal placental histopathology. Fetal brain T2* results were consistent with normal controls in 31% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: We present the first holistic assessment of the immediate implications of preeclampsia on maternal heart, placenta, and fetal brain. As well as having potential clinical implications for the risk stratification and management of women with preeclampsia, this gives an insight into the disease mechanism.
Date Issued
2024-04
Date Acceptance
2024-01-02
Citation
Hypertension, 2024, 81 (4), pp.836-847
ISSN
0194-911X
Publisher
American Heart Association
Start Page
836
End Page
847
Journal / Book Title
Hypertension
Volume
81
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Hypertension is published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38314606
Subjects
hypertension
ischemic heart disease
magnetic resonance imaging
placenta
pregnancy
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2024-02-05