title: Pregnancy in adult congenital heart disease.
abstract: Cardiac disease in pregnancy is a challenging health care problem. The number of cases and their complexity is increasing, such that heart disease is now the leading cause of maternal mortality in developed countries. Numerically, women with congenital heart disease (CHD) make up the majority of cases and although maternal mortality is infrequent, a good outcome is only achieved though meticulous care, which starts pre-pregnancy and continues for months after the pregnancy has ended. All women with CHD should be assessed and counseled before pregnancy and carefully monitored during pregnancy, the delivery and in the puerperium. In most cases, pregnancy is well tolerated but in some conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension or severe dilatation of the aorta, pregnancy is extremely high risk and should be advised against.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Office Ba 583a, Postbus 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, Netherlands. j.roos@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roos-Hesselink
authors.forename: P T E
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Ruys
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000379:methods; D016742:Preconception Care / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000628:therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors