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Cardiac Axis in Early Gestation and Congenital Heart Disease

D Carrasco1,2, L Guedes-Martins1,2,3,4,5

  • 1Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.

Current Cardiology Reviews
|January 27, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Measuring the fetal cardiac axis in early pregnancy is a powerful tool for detecting congenital heart defects (CHDs). This method can identify defects missed by standard views, improving fetal health outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Prenatal diagnostics
  • Fetal cardiology
  • Medical imaging

Background:

  • Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common fetal structural anomalies, leading to significant morbidity and mortality.
  • Early detection of CHDs is crucial for improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.
  • The fetal cardiac axis, representing heart orientation, is a potential early diagnostic marker.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the utility of fetal cardiac axis measurement for early detection of CHDs.
  • To highlight the cardiac axis as a reliable marker for identifying defects not visible in standard four-chamber views.
  • To emphasize the potential of early cardiac axis assessment in improving prenatal diagnosis and management.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing studies on first-trimester fetal cardiac axis measurement.
  • Analysis of the correlation between cardiac axis deviation and congenital heart defects.
  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of cardiac axis assessment in fetuses with extracardiac and chromosomal anomalies.

Main Results:

  • First-trimester cardiac axis measurement shows promise for detecting CHDs.
  • This method can identify certain CHDs that are undetectable via the conventional four-chamber view.
  • Early assessment of the cardiac axis may lead to improved fetal health outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • The fetal cardiac axis is a reliable and powerful marker for early congenital heart defect detection.
  • Incorporating cardiac axis measurement into early gestation screenings can enhance diagnostic capabilities.
  • This approach holds the potential to improve prenatal care and reduce the burden of CHDs.

Keywords:
Dopplerabnormal fetal cardiac axiscongenital heart defectfetal cardiac axisfetal echocardiographyfour-chamber

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