Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease

Submission Deadline: 30 May 2025 View: 58 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Edward Araujo Júnior

Email: araujojred@terra.com.br 

Affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Paulista School of Medicine-Federal University of São Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP)

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Research Interests: Obstetrics, High-risk pregnancies, Perinatology, Prenatal diagnosis, Fetal cardiology, and Three-dimensional ultrasound

Prof. Dr. Nathalie Jeanne Magioli Bravo-Valenzuela

Email: njmbravo@icloud.com  

Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Post graduate Program of Institute of Cardiology of Rio Grande do Sul/University Foundation of Cardiology (IC/FUC)

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Research Interests: Fetal cardiology, Three-dimensional ultrasound, Cardiac function, Pediatric Cardiology, Congenital Heart Disease

Summary

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) represent the most prevalent fetal cardiac anomaly and a principal cause of neonatal mortality. It is noteworthy that approximately 25% of these defects are classified as critical, indicating the necessity for immediate postpartum care by pediatric cardiologists and pediatric cardiac surgeons. In the context, prenatal diagnosis is crucial. Obstetric ultrasound and fetal echocardiography are invaluable diagnostic tools. It is thus feasible to integrate sophisticated technologies into the ultrasound images of the heart, such as three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. The introduction of 3D physical models and virtual navigation in prenatal care represents a significant innovation that has the potential to transform improve prenatal diagnosis and care planning. The precocious diagnosis of structural heart defects remains a challenge that requires the input of a multidisciplinary team of specialists and subspecialists in perinatal healthcare. This article provides an overview of the prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic management of a range of CHDs, such as septal defects, aortic malformations, hypoplastic left ventricle and conotruncal anomalies, among others.    

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