Table 1.

Birth, growth, and hemodynamic parameters for age-matched control and early gestation dexamethasone-exposed lambs

	Control	Dexamethasone Exposed
Plurality at birth	3 singleton, 3 twins	2 singleton, 4 twins
Gender	2 female, 4 males	1 female, 5 males
Postnatal age, days	9±1	8±1
Weight, kg	7.7±1.0	7.6±0.9
Heart weight, g/kg	7.4±0.2	7.5±0.2
LVFW weight, g/kg	2.4±0.2	2.6±0.2
RVFW weight, g/kg	1.4±0.1	1.6±0.1
MAP, mmHg	74±3	77±1
HR, beats/min	266±21	249±9

Values are means ± SE; N = 6. There were no significant differences between the control and steroid-exposed groups. LVFW, left ventricle free wall; RVFW, right ventricle free wall; MAP, mean arterial blood pressure; HR, heart rate. Tissue weights are in proportion to body wt.