Abstract
Approximately, 2% of pregnancies occur in females with cardiovascular diseases, and this is associated with increased maternal and fetal risk. Profound changes that take place in the maternal circulation during this period (e.g., blood volume and heart rate increase and thus stress the heart) tend to complicate the condition of the mother-to-be.
Labor and delivery is another issue that adds to the heart’s workload, and a mother who has tolerated the pregnancy may become complicated. The risk depends on the nature and severity of the underlying heart disease.
Minor abnormalities of the heart’s shape and function as well as hemodynamic changes happen in pregnancy. Although they are not normally deemed a cause for concern, they may pose life-threatening risks to mother and fetus in women with a history of cardiovascular disease.
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Abbreviations
- LA:
-
Left atrial
- LV:
-
Left ventricular
- LVOT:
-
Left ventricular outflow tract
- NYHA:
-
New York heart association
- PTMC:
-
Percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy
- RA:
-
Right atrium
- RV:
-
Right ventricle
- TEE:
-
Transesophageal echocardiography
- VTI:
-
Velocity time integral
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Mostafavi, A. (2018). Echocardiography in Pregnancy. In: Sadeghpour, A., Alizadehasl, A. (eds) Case-Based Textbook of Echocardiography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67691-3_42
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67691-3_42
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