title: Outcome of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease: a literature review.
abstract: A search of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to identify reports that provide data on complications associated with pregnancy in women with structural congenital heart disease (CHD). This review describes the outcome of 2,491 pregnancies, including 377 miscarriages (15%) and 114 elective abortions (5%). Important cardiac complications were seen in 11% of the pregnancies. Obstetric complications do not appear to be more prevalent. In complex CHD, premature delivery rates are high, and more children are small for gestational age. The offspring mortality was high throughout the spectrum and was related to the relatively high rate of premature delivery and recurrence of CHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. w.drenthen@thorax.umcg.nl
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Drenthen
authors.forename: Petronella G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.forename: Jolien W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roos-Hesselink
authors.forename: Willem A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: van Lottum
authors.forename: Adriaan A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Voors
authors.forename: Barbara J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.forename: Arie P J
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: Hubert W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Vliegen
authors.forename: Sing C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moons
authors.forename: Tjark
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ebels
authors.forename: Dirk J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: van Veldhuisen
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology; D000032:Abortion, Therapeutic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology; D002303:Cardiac Output, Low / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000453:epidemiology; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013771:Tetralogy of Fallot / Q000453:epidemiology; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000453:epidemiology; D014188:Transposition of Great Vessels / Q000453:epidemiology