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Fetal echocardiography, or Fetal echocardiogram, is the name of the test used to diagnose cardiac conditions in the fetal stage. Cardiac defects are amongst the most common birth defects. Their diagnosis is important in the fetal stage as it might help provide an opportunity to plan and manage the baby as and when the baby is born.
An EIF in the fetal heart may indicate an increased chance of the baby having a chromosome problem. It does not affect the development of the baby or the function of the heart. If the baby has normal chromosomes, there would be no associated problems to be concerned about. No special treatment or tests are needed at delivery.
A transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) is the most common type of echocardiogram, which is a still or moving image of the internal parts of the heart using ultrasound.In this case, the probe (or ultrasonic transducer) is placed on the chest or abdomen of the subject to get various views of the heart.
EFE can now be found non-invasively by the recording of increased endocardial echos. Fetal echocardiography has shown that EFE can begin to accumulate as early as 14 weeks of gestation, and increase with incredible rapidity [14] and even that it can be reversed if the stress can be removed early in fetal life. [15]
If a cardiac anomaly is suspected in a routine ultrasound during pregnancy, often a perinatologist (maternal-fetal specialist) will perform a fetal echocardiogram (noninvasive ultrasound of the fetus heart), which may be able to confirm a diagnosis of HRHS. This can help with possible options for treatment.
Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, blood vessels, and internal organs, to measure some characteristics (e.g., distances and velocities) or to generate an informative audible sound.
A fetal heartbeat can be detected at around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed. [20] During childbirth, the parameter is part of cardiotocography, which is where the fetal heartbeat and uterine contractions are continuously recorded.
Many congenital heart defects can be diagnosed prenatally by fetal echocardiography. This is a test which can be done during the second trimester of pregnancy, when the woman is about 18–24 weeks pregnant. [43] [44] It can be an abdominal ultrasound or transvaginal ultrasound. [citation needed]