TITLE:
Atypical Intrapartum Maternal Heart Rate Pattern in a Woman with Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia
AUTHORS:
Junsuke Muraoka, Masanao Ohhashi, Hiroshi Sameshima
KEYWORDS:
Heart Rate, Labor, Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia, Pregnancy, Uterine Contraction
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
24,
2021
ABSTRACT: Pregnant women show characteristic hemodynamics, and their heart rates
ordinarily increase with uterine contractions during labor. Conversely, uterine
contraction-associated decelerations of maternal heart rate (MHR) are rare. We
present a pregnant woman with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)
who exhibited intrapartum MHR deceleration pattern. We performed simultaneous
fetal heart rate monitoring with an external ultrasound transducer and MHR
monitoring with a tocogram during her parturition. She developed a PSVT
exacerbation in the second stage of parturition. As revealed by
cardiotocography, the MHR baseline abruptly declined at onset of uterine
contractions during the active phase of labor. Recovery followed, and the
contraction resolved. The tachycardia got prolonged as the labor advanced. Our
patient exhibited the unusual, up-and-down changes of the MHR pattern
associated with labor contractions. The etiology of the occurrence of uterine
contraction-associated MHR decelerations was unclear in the present case.
Continuous tracing to visually inspect MHR patterns during parturition is a
simple method for examining real-time MHR status of patients treated within
obstetric practice settings.