BMJ  2006;332:401-406 (18 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.38756.482882.DE (published 13 February 2006)

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Pregnancy and congenital heart disease

¹ Adult Congenital Heart Disease Unit, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust and National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College, London SW3 6NP, ² Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Medicine and Anaesthetics, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, ³ Magill Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Management, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London

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Congenital heart disease occurs in 0.8% of newborn infants around the world. Advances in medical and surgical treatments over the past decades has led to more than 85% of these infants surviving to adulthood.^{1 2} Most interventions, however, have not been curative and about half of adults with congenital heart disease face the prospect of further surgery, arrhythmia, heart failure, and—if managed inappropriately—premature death. The burden of pregnancy represents a new challenge in women with congenital heart disease.

In the United Kingdom about 250 000 adults have congenital heart disease (also known as "grown up congenital heart disease (GUCH)" patients), and this number is growing.³ Half of these patients are women, most of reproductive age. After suicide, cardiac disease is now the leading cause of maternal death in the UK, with most of these casualties having had congenital heart disease.⁴ The medical profession should therefore be aware of the risks that . . . [Full text of this article]

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Pregnancy and Congenital Heart Disease

Gillian E Robinson
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2006 [Full text]

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