title: Preconception considerations.
abstract: Heart disease complicates 1-2% of pregnancies, and in preparation for pregnancy, these women should receive comprehensive preconception counseling. Risks to the mother and potential risks to the offspring secondary to the type and severity of maternal cardiac disease, its inheritance pattern, required medical therapy, and palliative or corrective procedures that may be needed must be considered. Life expectancy and the ability to care for a child are somber issues that must be addressed when serious cardiac conditions exist. Pregnancy is still contraindicated in women with pulmonary hypertension, severe systemic ventricular dysfunction, dilated aortopathy, and severe left-sided obstructive lesions, but advances in medical and surgical management have resulted in an increasing number of patients with cardiac disorders who are interested in pursuing pregnancy. A multidisciplinary approach can best determine whether acceptable outcomes can be expected and what management strategies may improve the prognosis for women with heart disease and their offspring.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 W 168th St, PH-16, New York, New York. Electronic address: ls731@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Lynn L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002300:Cardiac Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016742:Preconception Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: counseling; maternal heart disease; maternal risks; perinatal risks