Editorial
Management of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The number of women with congenital heart disease reaching childbearing age is increasing, and this group now represents the majority of women with heart disease during pregnancy. This increase raises certain issues which have already been addressed in editorials in this journal,1 2 relating to risk factors and the difficulties arising from pregnant women with severe congenital heart disease.
Simple defectsAtrial and ventricular septal defects, and arterial duct, when operated on early in infancy, do not require any special treatment. Asymptomatic left-to-right shunts and moderate pulmonary stenosis are also usually well tolerated. These women should be able to give birth in non-specialist centres. The only concern is prevention of endocarditis in case of residual shunts or valvar regurgitation. Atrial septal defect is the most common congenital heart disease in adults, and in the absence of pulmonary hypertension induces barely any complications.3
ContraindicationsEisenmenger reaction, major or significant aortic dilatation in
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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Arafeh, J., El-Sayed, Y. Y.
(2004). Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy. NeoReviews
5: e232-e239
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