Fetal echocardiography is a test similar to an ultrasound. This exam allows your doctor to better see the structure and function of your unborn child’s heart. It’s typically done in the second trimester, between weeks 18 to 24.
The exam uses sound waves that “echo” off the structures of the fetus’s heart. A machine analyzes these sound waves and creates a picture, or echocardiogram, of their heart’s interior. This image provides information on how your baby’s heart formed and whether it’s working properly.
It also enables your doctor to see the blood flow through the fetus’s heart. This in-depth look allows your doctor to find any abnormalities in the baby’s blood flow or heartbeat.
Not all pregnant women need a fetal echocardiogram. For most women, a basic ultrasound will show the development of all four chambers of their baby’s heart.
Your OB-GYN may recommend that you have this procedure done if previous tests weren’t conclusive or if they detected an abnormal heartbeat in the fetus.
You may also need this test if:
Some OB-GYNs perform this test. But usually an experienced ultrasound technician, or ultrasonographer, performs the test. A cardiologist who specializes in pediatric medicine will review the results.
An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves (ultrasound) to create images of the heart. A Doppler test uses sound waves to measure the speed and direction of blood flow. By combining these tests, a pediatric cardiologist gets useful information about the heart’s anatomy and function. Echocardiography is the most common test used in children to diagnose or rule out heart disease and also to follow children who have already been diagnosed with a heart problem. This test can be performed on children of all ages and sizes including fetuses and newborns.
Echocardiography diagnoses cardiac problems, and also guides heart surgery and complex cardiac catheterizations. Children’s developed one of the first digital echocardiography laboratories in the world and remains a leader in the development of new technologies to optimize patient care. Our digital echocardiography laboratory makes it seamless for physicians throughout the region, country, and world to instantly send Children’s cardiologists echocardiograms for review 24/7 from any computer.
Many types of specialized echocardiography services are offered, including:
The team also provides advanced connectivity services, such as digital echocardiography and tele-echocardiography.
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a way to replace the aortic valve without open-heart surgery. This procedure is done to treat aortic valve stenosis. TAVI is also called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
TAVI is often done through an incision (cut) in the groin. But sometimes a small cut is made in the chest. The doctor uses a tube called a catheter and tools that fit inside the catheter. The doctor puts the catheter into a blood vessel and moves it through the blood vessel and into the heart. The artificial valve fits inside the catheter. The doctor then moves the new valve into the damaged aortic valve. The artificial valve expands and takes the place of the damaged valve.
You may have general anesthesia, which makes you sleep during the surgery. Or you may get a sedative that will help you relax.
To see if TAVI might be a choice for you, a team of doctors will check many things about your heart and your overall health. Together you can decide if you want to have the procedure.
Be sure to tell all of your doctors and your dentist that you have an artificial aortic valve. This is important because you may need to take antibiotics before certain procedures to prevent an infection in your heart.
Congenital heart disease is one or more problems with the heart's structure that exist since birth. Congenital means that you're born with the defect. Congenital heart disease, also called congenital heart defect, can change the way blood flows through your heart. Some congenital heart defects might not cause any problems. Complex defects, however, can cause life-threatening complications.
Advances in diagnosis and treatment have allowed babies with congenital heart disease to survive well into adulthood. Sometimes, signs and symptoms of congenital heart disease aren't seen until you're an adult.
If you have congenital heart disease you likely will need care throughout your life. Check with your doctor to determine how often you need a checkup.
To see if TAVI might be a choice for you, a team of doctors will check many things about your heart and your overall health. Together you can decide if you want to have the procedure.
Be sure to tell all of your doctors and your dentist that you have an artificial aortic valve. This is important because you may need to take antibiotics before certain procedures to prevent an infection in your heart.
An arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia) is an irregular or abnormal heartbeat.
Your pulse indicates your heart rate, or the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Pulse rates vary from person to person. Your pulse is slower when you are at rest and increases when you exercise, since more oxygen- rich blood is needed by the body during exercise.
You can tell how fast your heart is beating by feeling your pulse. You can feel your pulse on your wrist or neck. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inner wrist of your other arm, just below the base of your thumb. Or, place the tips of your index and middle fingers on your lower neck, on either side of your windpipe. Press lightly with your fingers until you feel the blood pulsing beneath your fingers. You may need to move your fingers around slightly up or down until you feel the pulsing.
You can count the number of beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to determine your heart rate in beats per minute. A normal heart rate, at rest, is 50 to 100 beats per minute.
Cardiac catheterization (kath-uh-tur-ih-ZAY-shun) is a procedure used to diagnose and treat certain cardiovascular conditions. During cardiac catheterization, a long thin tube called a catheter is inserted in an artery or vein in your groin, neck or arm and threaded through your blood vessels to your heart.
Using this catheter, doctors can then do diagnostic tests as part of a cardiac catheterization. Some heart disease treatments, such as coronary angioplasty and coronary stenting, also are done using cardiac catheterization.
Usually, you'll be awake during cardiac catheterization but be given medications to help you relax. Recovery time for a cardiac catheterization is quick, and there's a low risk of complications.
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