Possible TW Fetal Echocardiogram

[sarenu]

Anyone had one?

There's a high possibility that this baby has a hole in her heart chamber. I'm seeing a specialist on Friday to get a diagnosis and then we will go from there.

I'm guessing it's nothing life threatening, since they didn't rush me over yesterday for testing. And the doctor reassured me that since we know about it we can do further testing and have a plan of action ready depending on diagnosis.

[DGM]

No advice unfortunately but you're in my T&P!

[brandiewine11]

I have not, but I used to manage the cardiac ultrasound line for one of the major ultrasound companies. And I worked at a children's hospital.

It's basically an ultrasound for you, but they will look specifically at the baby's heart.

There are many kinds of holes and they vary in severity based on size and location. Many will close on their own and some will require a procedure, which is usually minimally invasive.

They are not usually a problem when baby is inside as fetal circulation is very different from when they are outside. In fact, there is a hole in every baby's heart specifically for fetal circulation that closes shortly after delivery in most babies.

Other defects are quite common and very very treatable if there is one. The most common are ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) - a hole between the 2 atria of the heart; and VSD (ventricular septal defect) - a hole between the ventricles.

Basically they both allow oxygenated blood and non-oxygenated blood to mix and can cause the heart and/or lungs to work harder than they should.

It's excellent you're getting a diagnosis now and will have a plan. Honestly with these things, diagnosis and monitoring is most of the battle!! Hopefully it's minor and you'll know everything you need to know before baby comes. Stay away from Google until you discuss with your doctors.

Good luck, and keep us posted!!

[TJ]

GL.

[piccyami]

We had one because twins + IVF. It took FOREVER to get all the shots they needed, but once they got them all, they were very confident that we didn't have any heart problems. Because of the length, I got very uncomfortable and nearly passed out because someone was laying on a vein/artery/whatever.

Good luck.

[pipsqueak]

I had one with Pip since heart issues are common with Down Syndrome. Fortunately, his showed no issues and repeat echo at birth confirmed no issues.

[MapleMe]

Obviously severity matters, but I also wanted to add that about 25% of the population has a hole in their heart. My dad found out about his when he had a stroke at age 67 (he recovered fully). My dad was a regular marathon runner throughout his life and now (at 73) rides horses and climbs approximately 714 stairs every morning. At his age it's not advised to do surgery to correct the hole, but (as I learned as I read EVERYTHING that I could about it after my dad's stroke), it's quite a successful surgery in babies. Good luck and definitely let us know how it goes.

[SAK]

I had one with F, but for us it was just an issue the monitored and the hole closed on its own.