A STUDY ON ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN PREGNANCY

Abstract

During pregnancy, physiological adaptations occur in different systems of maternal body to cater to the needs ofthe growing fetus as well as to support the increasing metabolic demands of mother. The cardiovascular system also undergoes changes and these changes are reflected in the electrocardiogram .So, this study has been conducted with the aim to learn the electrocardiographic changes in pregnancy and to compare and analyze the electrocardiogram of pregnant women with the non-pregnant women. This was a comparative study of 30 pregnant women in the age group of 20-35 yrsand 30 non-pregnant women in the same age group .A 12 lead ECG of both pregnant and non-pregnant women were recorded using ECG machine and they were analyzed.RESULT- It has been observed that there was a statistically significant increase in heart rate, decrease in PR interval , decrease in QRS axis and an increase in corrected QT interval in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. There was presence of Q wave in inferior leads III  andaVF in pregnant women. The occurrence of Q wave in lead III was more frequent in pregnant women than non-pregnant women while only pregnant women showed Q wave in lead aVF.The occurrence of T wave abnormalities like flat T waves and inverted T waves in lead IIIwas more frequent in pregnant women than non-pregnant women.Also,there was statistically significant occurrence of inverted T wave in V2 in pregnant women.CONCLUSION-These physiological changes in the electrocardiogram of pregnant women must be taken into consideration while interpreting the ECGs for diagnosis of heart diseases in pregnancy.