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Introduction: The CARP study aims to investigate placental function, cardiac function and fetal growth comprehensively during pregnancy, a time of maximal cardiac stress, to work towards disentangling the complex cardiac and placental interactions presenting in the aetiology of pre-eclampsia as well as predicting maternal Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk in later life.Background: The involvement of the cardiovascular system in pre-eclampsia, one of the most serious complications of pregnancy, is evident. While the manifestations of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy (high blood pressure, multi-organ disease, and placental dysfunction) resolve after delivery, a lifelong elevated CVD risk remains.Method: An assessment including both cardiac and placental Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) optimised for use in pregnancy and bespoke to the expected changes was developed. Simultaneous structural and functional MRI data from the placenta, the heart and the fetus were obtained in a total of 32 pregnant women (gestational ages from 18.1 to 37.5 weeks), including uncomplicated pregnancies and five cases with early onset pre-eclampsia.Results: The achieved comprehensive MR acquisition was able to demonstrate a phenotype associated with pre-eclampsia linking both placental and cardiac factors, reduced mean T2* (p < 0.005), increased heterogeneity (p < 0.005) and a trend towards an increase in cardiac work, larger average mass (109.4 vs 93.65 gr), wall thickness (7.0 vs 6.4 mm), blood pool volume (135.7 vs 127.48 mL) and mass to volume ratio (0.82 vs 0.75). The cardiac output in the controls was, controlling for gestational age, positively correlated with placental volume (p < 0.05).Discussion: The CARP study constitutes the first joint assessment of functional and structural properties of the cardiac system and the placenta during pregnancy. Early indications of cardiac remodelling in pre-eclampsia were demonstrated paving the way for larger studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most important and common group of congenital malformations in humans. Concurrent development and close functional links between the fetal heart and placenta emphasise the importance of understanding placental function and its influence in pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate placental oxygenation by relaxometry (T2*) to assess differences in placental phenotype and function in CHD.Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional observational study, 69 women with a fetus affected with CHD and 37 controls, whole placental T2* was acquired using a 1.5-Tesla MRI scanner. Gaussian Process Regression was used to assess differences in placental phenotype in CHD cohorts compared to our controls.Results: Placental T2* maps demonstrated significant differences in CHD compared to controls at equivalent gestational age. Mean T2* values over the entire placental volume were lowest compared to predicted normal in right sided obstructive lesions (RSOL) (Z-Score 2.30). This cohort also showed highest lacunarity indices (Z-score -1.7), as a marker of lobule size. Distribution patterns of T2* values over the entire placental volume were positively skewed in RSOL (Z-score -4.69) and suspected, not confirmed coarctation of the aorta (CoA-) (Z-score -3.83). Deviations were also reflected in positive kurtosis in RSOL (Z-score -3.47) and CoA- (Z-score -2.86).Conclusion: Placental structure and function appear to deviate from normal development in pregnancies with fetal CHD. Specific patterns of altered placental function assessed by T2* deliver crucial complementary information to antenatal assessments in the presence of fetal CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]