Transthoracic Echocardiographic Assessment of the Heart in Pregnancy-a position statement on behalf of the British Society of Echocardiography and the United Kingdom Maternal Cardiology Society

Stephanie L Curtis; Mark Belham; Sadie Bennett; Rachael James; Allan Harkness; Wendy Gamlin; Baskaran Thilaganathan; Veronica Giorgione; Hannah Douglas; Aisling Carroll; Jamie Kitt; Claire Colebourn; Isabel Ribeiro; Sarah Fairbairn; Daniel X Augustine; Shaun Robinson; Sara A Thorne

doi:10.1186/s44156-023-00019-8

Transthoracic Echocardiographic Assessment of the Heart in Pregnancy-a position statement on behalf of the British Society of Echocardiography and the United Kingdom Maternal Cardiology Society

Echo Res Pract. 2023 Apr 20;10(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s44156-023-00019-8.

Authors

Stephanie L Curtis¹, Mark Belham², Sadie Bennett³, Rachael James^{4

5}, Allan Harkness⁶, Wendy Gamlin⁷, Baskaran Thilaganathan⁸, Veronica Giorgione⁸, Hannah Douglas⁹, Aisling Carroll¹⁰, Jamie Kitt¹¹, Claire Colebourn¹¹, Isabel Ribeiro¹², Sarah Fairbairn¹², Daniel X Augustine^{13

14}, Shaun Robinson¹⁵, Sara A Thorne¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust, Bristol Heart Institute, Marlborough Street, Bristol, BS2 8HW, UK. Stephanie.Curtis@uhbw.nhs.uk.
² Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.
³ University Hospitals of North Midlands, Stoke-On-Trent, UK.
⁴ University Hospitals Sussex NHS FT, Brighton, UK.
⁵ United Kingdom's Maternal Cardiology Society, London, UK.
⁶ East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Essex, UK.
⁷ North West Heart Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.
⁸ St George's University Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK.
⁹ Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London, UK.
¹⁰ University of Southampton NHS Trust, London, UK.
¹¹ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.
¹² University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust, Bristol Heart Institute, Marlborough Street, Bristol, BS2 8HW, UK.
¹³ Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Bath, UK.
¹⁴ Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
¹⁵ Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
¹⁶ University Health Network Toronto, Toronto General Hospital & Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Pregnancy is a dynamic process associated with profound hormonally mediated haemodynamic changes which result in structural and functional adaptations in the cardiovascular system. An understanding of the myocardial adaptations is important for echocardiographers and clinicians undertaking or interpreting echocardiograms on pregnant and post-partum women. This guideline, on behalf of the British Society of Echocardiography and United Kingdom Maternal Cardiology Society, reviews the expected echocardiographic findings in normal pregnancy and in different cardiac disease states, as well as echocardiographic signs of decompensation. It aims to lay out a structure for echocardiographic scanning and surveillance during and after pregnancy as well as suggesting practical advice on scanning pregnant women.

Keywords: Echocardiography; Obstetric; Pregnancy.

Publication types

Review