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Tachycardia-Induced Cardiomyopathy After Functional Closure of the Foramen Ovale in a Fetus

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Abstract

Although fetal tachyarrhythmias are relatively rare, they are an important causes of fetal morbidity and mortality. We report a 30-week pregnant woman with fetal tachycardia, fetal hydrops and ascites. Fetal heart rate was 230 bpm. Fetal heart rate was 230 bpm. M-mode echocardiography revealed a tachycardia with a 1:1 relationship between atrial and ventricular conduction and a short time interval between ventricular and atrial contraction. These findings suggested a diagnosis of atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia. On the third day digoxin treatment, the fetal heart rate was still 225 bpm with a 1:1 relationship between atrial and ventricular conduction. At this time, no flow across the foramen ovale was detected. Functional closure of the foramen ovale was suspected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Elisabeth Mlczoch, Ulrike Salzer-Muhar & Manfred Marx

  2. Division of Fetomaternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Barbara Ulm

Authors
  1. Elisabeth Mlczoch
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  2. Ulrike Salzer-Muhar
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  3. Barbara Ulm
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  4. Manfred Marx
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Mlczoch.

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Mlczoch, E., Salzer-Muhar, U., Ulm, B. et al. Tachycardia-Induced Cardiomyopathy After Functional Closure of the Foramen Ovale in a Fetus. Pediatr Cardiol 32, 678–680 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-011-9926-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-011-9926-7

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