[Apropos of a case of intra-uterine supraventricular tachycardia]

A case of intrauterine paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)--without heart malformations and fetal cardiac failure at the echographic assessment--is reported. After birth, the EKG of the newborn documented recurrent accesses of reentrant PSVT, likely related to the presence of a concealed Kent's bundle in the reentry circuit. Mother and grand-father of the newborn were affected by Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome. The familial occurrence of pre-excitation syndromes--with different by-passes--and the possibility of autosomal inheritance are discussed. The importance of early identification of fetal cardiac dysrythmias and/or failure by monitoring pregnancies with familial history of PSVT is emphasized. Pharmacological approaches of fetal supraventricular tachycardia, as reported by several Authors in the literature, are presented.