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Editorial
Fetal echocardiography has become a standard procedure for evaluating fetal cardiac anomalies and dysrhythmias, enabling prompt diagnosis and in utero therapy for conditions like fetal hydrops.
The article by Wiggins et al 1 in this month's AJDC raises several important issues regarding the treatment of fetal heart problems. Besides demonstrating that fetal supraventricular tachyarrhythmias are treatable, they have provided evidence that congestive heart failure from other causes may respond to in utero therapy. Fetal echocardiography, until recently only a research tool, has now become a standard procedure for the evaluation of a fetus with suspected cardiac anomaly or dysrhythmia. 2 The diagnosis of idiopathic fetal hydrops has become less tenable with present technology, 3 and prompt, thorough evaluation of all such patients is indicated. Many cases of fetal hydrops are secondary to cardiac dysrhythmias or structural defects, and if left untreated, are associated with a very high rate of mortality.
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Richard L. Donnerstein (1986) studied this question.
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