Role of echocardiography in the assessment and management of adult congenital heart disease in pregnancy

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2011 Jul;27(6):843-57. doi: 10.1007/s10554-010-9750-9. Epub 2010 Nov 17.

Abstract

Congenital heart disease represent a large proportion of heart disease in pregnancy. With the exception of patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome, pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, and Marfan's syndrome with aortopathy, maternal death during pregnancy is rare in women with CHD but morbidity occurs such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and stroke. Echocardiography represents a milestone in diagnosis, understanding of pathophysiology, assessment of disease severity and patient monitoring in pregnant women with unoperated and post-operative congenital heart disease.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Echocardiography, Doppler*
  • Female
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / diagnostic imaging*
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / physiopathology
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / therapy
  • Humans
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / diagnostic imaging*
  • Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / physiopathology
  • Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / therapy
  • Prognosis
  • Severity of Illness Index