Is Cardiovascular Function Altered in the Offspring of IVF-Treated Women?

Robert W. Rebar, MD

Although studies have shown differences, clinical significance remains to be established.

Children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) may have subtle alterations in cardiovascular function. Hypothesizing that the ovarian hyperstimulation associated with IVF might be causative, Chinese investigators assessed cardiovascular parameters with echocardiography in 41 children born to women who experienced ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) during IVF, 34 children of mothers with non-OHSS IVF, and 48 spontaneously conceived (SC) children (overall mean age, 4.5 years).

Children of OHSS mothers had echocardiographic findings suggestive of diminished left ventricular function; they also had smaller-diameter common carotid arteries with impaired flow-mediated dilation. Values in the non-OHSS IVF children fell between the OHSS and SC groups, but all values were within the normal range. In proteomics studies involving OHSS and SC infants, 40 differentially expressed proteins were detected in the umbilical arteries. Estradiol and progesterone were identified as possible upstream regulators of these proteins.

Citation(s):

Xu G-F et al. Cardiovascular dysfunction in offspring of ovarian hyperstimulated women and effects of estradiol and progesterone: A retrospective cohort study and proteomics analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2014 Sep 30; [e-pub ahead of print].