What is it about?

The workload of the heart and skeletal muscles change significantly at the time of birth. However, it is not well understood how blood supply changes to these muscles in this important period. Using contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging, we found that blood perfusion of both the heart and skeletal muscle is reduced in the newborn compared to the late-gestation fetus. However, the degree to which maximal flow can increase over resting flow is similar between these ages.

Why is it important?

Perfusion of the heart and skeletal muscle are important for lifelong health. Defects in perfusion of the heart lead to heart disease, and defects in perfusion of skeletal muscle lead to metabolic disease. Understanding developmental changes at the time of birth, a universal experience, is important foundational knowledge.

Find this paper in Experimental Physiology and in Pubmed.