title: Role of echocardiography in the assessment and management of adult congenital heart disease in pregnancy.
abstract: Congenital heart disease represent a large proportion of heart disease in pregnancy. With the exception of patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome, pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, and Marfan's syndrome with aortopathy, maternal death during pregnancy is rare in women with CHD but morbidity occurs such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and stroke. Echocardiography represents a milestone in diagnosis, understanding of pathophysiology, assessment of disease severity and patient monitoring in pregnant women with unoperated and post-operative congenital heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Echocardiology Unit, Cardiac Department, Sapienza University, Via Lima 35, 00198, Rome, Italy. vitar@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vitarelli
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Capotosto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index