IMFH | Maternal-Fetal Services | Physician Services | Cardiology
With continued maturation in cardiology, the emphasis in services has shifted to fetal diagnosis of heart disease. Heart defects can now be accurately diagnosed before birth by fetal echocardiography. In most cases, this leads to improved postnatal management. In a few cases, it may also allow fetal intervention to open up an obstructed valve and thus prevent abnormal development of the pumping chamber. Fetal heart disease can be congenital (structural defects) or there can be a problem with the fetal heart beat (arrhythmias) or a functional problem with the heart squeeze or filling.
The fetal cardiology team at IMFH provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art care for fetuses with heart disease and provides a seamless transition, when needed, to medical and/or surgical care of the newborn infant following delivery. Using high-resolution fetal cardiac imaging, experienced fetal cardiologists diagnose and manage both simple and complex forms of fetal heart disease. When appropriate, additional treatments are offered for affected fetuses to optimize fetal well-being and neonatal outcome. Following the diagnosis of fetal heart disease, a thorough explanation of the heart defect is made to the patient and family, along with a description of the anticipated neonatal course, possible surgical interventions, and long-term prognosis or outlook.
Some of the problems IMFH’s cardiology team treats include:
- Dysrhthmia or arrhythmia
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
- Congenital cysti adenomatous malformation
- Fetal anemia
- Acardiac twins
- Sacrococcygeal teratomas
- Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome
For some of these conditions, there are ways to intervene before birth to improve the heart function and the baby’s overall outlook. Fetal echocardiography can help to identify those babies in whom intervention should be provided before birth, determine the best timing for intervention, and assists in determining how effective the intervention has been.
