ISSN 2149-2263 | E-ISSN 2149-2271
The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology
Prevalence and distribution of structural heart diseases in high and low risk pregnancies [Anatol J Cardiol]
Anatol J Cardiol. 2011; 11(2): 125-130 | DOI: 10.5152/akd.2011.032

Prevalence and distribution of structural heart diseases in high and low risk pregnancies

Nazan Özbarlas1, Sevcan Erdem1, Osman Küçükosmanoğlu1, Gülşah Seydaoğlu2, Cansun Demir3, Cüneyt Evrüke3, Fatma Tuncay Özgünen3
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey
2Department of Biostatistics Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey
3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey

Objective: To establish and compare the frequency of intrauterine congenital heart defects in high-risk and low-risk pregnancies for congenital heart diseases. Methods: Records of 3782 patients who underwent fetal echocardiography at the Pediatric Cardiology Unit were reviewed for reasons of referral and results of echocardiography retrospectively. The categorical variables between the groups were analyzed using a Chi-square test. Results: Structural heart defects were found in 213 (5.6%) fetuses in both high and low risk groups. Most common defects were ventricular septal defect (36.2%) and atrioventricular septal defect (14.1%). Frequency of congenital heart diseases was 7.8% (169 fetuses) in high-risk group: 4.1% were complex, 2.3% significant and 1.4% were minor. In low-risk group, the frequency was 2.7% (44 fetuses): 0.6% were complex, 0.8% significant and 1.3% were minor. In this group, rates of congenital defects were high regarding particular reasons: intrauterine fetal death in previous pregnancy (6.3%), abnormal first or second trimester screening tests (4.3%), and multiple gestations (3.4%). The sensitivity and specificity of fetal echocardiography according to transthoracic echocardiography were found to be 86% and 99%, respectively. Conclusion: Congenital heart diseases rate, as expected, was found to be higher in high-risk group. However, regarding intrauterine fetal death in previous pregnancy, abnormal first or second trimester screening tests and multiple gestation, no statistically significant difference was observed between low-risk and high-risk groups. Therefore, we suggest the routine use of fetal echocardiography in cases we have mentioned above if the staff and equipment of the pediatric cardiology clinic are eligible.

Keywords: Congenital heart disease, fetal echocardiography, high-risk pregnancy, low-risk pregnancy

Nazan Özbarlas, Sevcan Erdem, Osman Küçükosmanoğlu, Gülşah Seydaoğlu, Cansun Demir, Cüneyt Evrüke, Fatma Tuncay Özgünen. Prevalence and distribution of structural heart diseases in high and low risk pregnancies. Anatol J Cardiol. 2011; 11(2): 125-130
Manuscript Language: English


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