Key result
Doppler echocardiography guides successful term delivery in fetal heart block under 55 bpm.
Why the study?
An optimal method for assessing and monitoring cardiovascular compensation in persistent fetal bradycardia due to heart block has not been fully established.
Case Report (n=1)
Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography can be useful for monitoring cardiac function and hemodynamics in fetuses with severe heart block to guide management to term.
May support echocardiography-guided monitoring in severe fetal heart block; hypothesis-generating and requires validation in larger cohorts.
Persistent bradycardia is an uncommon cardiac problem in fetuses but carries a high mortality in those with a ventricular rate <55 bpm. Fetal heart block is one of the most common causes of persistent fetal bradycardia (PFB). An optimal method for assessing and monitoring cardiovascular compensation in the setting of PFB due to heart block has not been fully established. We report the application of two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography in close monitoring of cardiac function and hemodynamics in a third-trimester fetus with a ventricular rate <55 bpm due to heart block, which assisted in successful management of the pregnancy to term. Hemodynamic and cardiac adaptive changes in compromised fetuses, particularly due to heart block, are discussed.
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Singh et al. (1998) conducted a case report in Isolated Fetal Heart Block with Ventricular Rate < 55 BPM (n=1). Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography was evaluated on Successful management of the pregnancy to term. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography assisted in the successful management to term of a third-trimester fetus with heart block and a ventricular rate <55 bpm.
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