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Hemodynamics During Pregnancy : A Model For Cardiac Enlargement, David James Mendelson

Dissertations and Theses

Cardiac output Increases by 30-50% during mammal Ian pregnancy. This Increase Is reflected by elevation In both heart rate and stroke volume. The primary mechanism of Increased stroke volume appears to be cardiac enlargement, rather than increased preload, afterload, or contractility. Animal studies have shown that enlargement of the heart occurs prior to an Increase In uterine blood flow during pregnancy and this type of enlargement can be mimicked by sex steroid administration.

Systemic vascular resistance greatly decreases during pregnancy and with sex steroid administration. It has been postulated that systemic vascular resistance may be a signal for heart size …