Quantitative measurements and morphological evaluation of fetal cardiovascular structures with fetal cardiac MRI

Editorial for “Reference Values for Fetal Cardiac Dimensions, Volumes, Ventricular Function and Left Ventricular Longitudinal Strain Using Doppler Ultrasound Gated Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Healthy Third Trimester Fetuses”

“…They found slightly higher values in heart diameter and length measurements, although these measurements fell within the normal reference ranges. Heart area measurements were higher between the 19th and 24th weeks of gestation, from the 25th week onward they were aligned with the specified weekly reference intervals 8 . However, Barker et al found that fetal cardiac MRI volumes were larger than those reported by echocardiography, in some cases by as much as 48% or more.…”

“…Heart area measurements were higher between the 19th and 24th weeks of gestation, from the 25th week onward they were aligned with the specified weekly reference intervals. 8 However, Barker et al found that fetal cardiac MRI volumes were larger than those reported by echocardiography, in some cases by as much as 48% or more. The primary limitation of these current publications is sample size, as establishing normative values typically requires a minimum of 40 subjects.…”