Imaging the first trimester heart: ultrasound correlation with morphology

Cardiol Young. 2014 Oct:24 Suppl 2:3-12. doi: 10.1017/S1047951114001413. Epub 2014 Aug 27.

Abstract

First trimester sonography is a widely used technique to examine the foetus early in pregnancy. The desire to recognise complex anatomy already in early developmental stages stresses the need for a thorough knowledge of basic developmental processes as well as recognition of cardiac compartments based on their morphology. In this paper, we describe the possibilities and limitations of sonographic assessment of the foetal heart between 10 and 14 weeks of gestation and correlate this to morphology. Examples of the most commonly detected congenital anomalies are atrioventricular septal defects, transposition of the great arteries, and hypoplastic left heart, which are shown in this paper.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Echocardiography / methods*
  • Echocardiography / standards
  • Female
  • Fetal Heart / diagnostic imaging*
  • Fetal Heart / physiology
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / diagnostic imaging*
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Trimester, First
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Ultrasonography, Prenatal / methods
  • Ultrasonography, Prenatal / standards