Prenatally diagnosed fetal heart rhythm abnormalities—incidence, diagnosis and outcome

Abstract

Prenatally diagnosed fetal heart rhythm abnormalities—incidence, diagnosis and outcome Jelena Stamenković1,2 , Vojislav Parezanović1,3 , Olivera Kontić-Vučinić1,2 , Ivan Stefanović1,3 , Maja Trkulja3 , Ida Jovanović4 , Aleksandar Ljubić4 , Milena Srbinović4,* 1School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 2Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 3Cardiology Department, University Children’s Clinic, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 4Medi Group Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia *Correspondence: steric.milena@gmail.com (Milena Srbinović) Academic Editor: Michael H. Dahan Submitted: 16 August 2021 Revised: 25 January 2022 Accepted: 26 January 2022 Published: 10 June 2022 Abstract Backrounds: Fetal arrhythmias represent a significant cause of fetal morbidity and mortality and occur in approximately 1–3% of pregnancies. The unknown fetal arrhythmias are the cause of intrauterine fetal demise in as many as 3–10% of cases, as well as the cause of unexplained fetal hydrops or premature births. Methods: A fetal echocardiography test makes it possible to notice structural heart defects at very early stages of pregnancy. The ultrasound heart rate monitoring also involves the use of specific Doppler methods. Heart rhythm disorders may occur in the form of tachycardia (sinus tachycardia (ST), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and atrial flutter (AF)) or in the form of bradycardia (sinus bradycardia (SB), atrial bigeminy (AB) and complete AV block). The most frequently diagnosed fetal heart rhythm disorders are isolated extrasystoles with no clinical significance. Results: In this study, we have examined 7863 fetuses (182 were multiple gestations). Out of the total number of examined patients, 572 fetuses (7.23%) had pathological heart features, while 127 (1.61%) had some form of rhythm disorder. Conclusions: The ability to recognize the heart rhythm disorder and commence the treatment in a timely manner increases the treatment success rate. Keywords: heart rhythm disorder; supraventricular tachycardia; atrial flutter; AV block; antiarrhythmics