Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2025

Fetal Mouse Cardiovascular Imaging Using a High-frequency Ultrasound 30/45MHZ System
Published on: May 5, 2018
Pregestational Diabetes and Congenital Heart Defects
Catarina Maduro1, Luís Ferreira de Castro2, Maria Lúcia Moleiro2
1Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
Studies have consistently shown a significant increase in the risk of congenital heart defects in the offspring of diabetic mothers compared with those of nondiabetic pregnancies. Evidence points that all types of pregestational diabetes have the capacity of generating cardiac malformations in a more accentuated manner than in gestational diabetes, and there seems to be an increased risk for all congenital heart defects phenotypes in the presence of maternal diabetes. Currently, the application of some therapies is under study in an attempt to reduce the risks inherent to diabetic pregnancies; however, it has not yet been possible to fully prove their effectiveness. The present review aims to better understand the mechanisms that govern the association between pregestational diabetes and congenital heart defects and how maternal diabetes interferes with fetal cardiac development, as there is still a long way to go in the investigation of this complex process.
Related Concept Videos
Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Teratogenicity
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications

