J Korean Med Assoc.  2005 Aug;48(8):764-776. 10.5124/jkma.2005.48.8.764.

Fetal Echocardiography

• Kim YH

• KMID: 2064942
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2005.48.8.764

Abstract

Congenital heart disease(CHD) is the most common congenital abnormality in human fetus, accounting for more than half of deaths from congenital abnormalities in childhood. Fetal echocardiography has been shown to be able to identify the majority of structural cardiac abnormalities, and it has traditionally been reserved for pregnancies at high risk for CHD. Most neonates with CHD, however, have no identifiable risk factors. When a sonogram is performed during pregnancy for defined clinical reasons, a four-chamber view of the fetal heart is routinely performed. However, a four-chamber view of the fetal heart does not reliably detect the most common CHD such as ventricular septal defect, coarctation of the aorta, transposition of the great arteries, and tetralogy of Fallot. Therefore, the vast majority of cases of CHD are left undetected even in those women who have undergone an obstetric ultrasound. A high level of suspicion of the presence of CHD and attention to anatomic details should be part of every ultrasound examination, especially when involving lowrisk pregnancies, and it is currently recommended that only those fetuses with significant risk factors be referred for a targeted sonogram and fetal echocardiogram.

Keyword

Congenital heart disease; Fetal echocardiography; Four-chamber view

MeSH Terms

Aortic Coarctation
Arteries
Congenital Abnormalities
Echocardiography*
Female
Fetal Heart
Fetus
Heart
Heart Defects, Congenital
Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Pregnancy
Risk Factors
Tetralogy of Fallot
Ultrasonography

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