title: Valvular heart disease in pregnancy. A contemporary perspective.
abstract: Valvular heart disease may have a significant impact on the course and outcome of pregnancy with implications for fetal as well as maternal health. Optimally, serious symptomatic valvular heart disease should be detected and treated before pregnancy. Whether a pregnant woman is known to have valvular heart disease or is diagnosed during pregnancy, it is imperative that she is managed by an experienced multidisciplinary team. Although medical therapy may alleviate symptoms of heart failure in some patients, definitive intervention either with percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty or with surgical valve replacement may be necessary.
authors.affiliation: John H. Mills Memorial Echocardiography Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Teerlink
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002404:Catheterization; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists