Perinatal changes in myocardial function: Speckle Tracking Echocardiography reference values during the transition from fetal to postnatal life from a prospective longitudinal cohort

Objective Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE) allows the quantification of myocardial function. Still, changes in the perinatal transition are not yet well described. Therefore, we aimed to establish reference values of perinatal STE derived strains during the transitional from the fetus up unto the full myocardial adaptation of the neonate in a prospective longitudinal cohort.