What week can an ultrasound of the gestational heart be possible?

The article was consulted professionally by Specialist I Pham Thi Yen – Obstetrician and Gynecologist – Share99 Hai Phong International Health Hub.

According to statistics every year nearly 10000 children are born with congenital heart disease, of which up to half are severe congenital hearts and can die at any time. This is an alarming situation, but can be overcome if the pregnant woman perform an ultrasound of the congenital heart diagnosis at the pre-medentitic stage. So what week is the pregnancy cardiac ultrasound to effectively screen the congenital heart?

Fetal heart ultrasound is an imaging method of diagnosis in the pre-production stage, using ultrasound waves that examine the structure, function and frequency of the heart to assess the cardiovascular condition of the fetus.

This is a pre-maternity diagnosis method recommended by doctors to be able to diagnose, detect congenital heart early and offer appropriate treatments. The frequency of accurate diagnosis of severe congenital heart in the fetus is up to 90% if performed by highly specialized and experienced doctors in pre-birth diagnosis.

During fetal development, the heart begins to form quite clearly and beats on the 22nd day after conception, usually before the mother realizes she is pregnant. The gestational heart will appear in the 6th-7th week of pregnancy, during this period if modern means are used, the heartbeat of the gestational heart can be heard but there are also some cases that it is not until the 8th-10th week of pregnancy to hear the fetal heart depends on the development of the embryo.

The fetal heart will develop from a simple tubular shape and then twist and divide to form a heart with 4 chambers and the heart valve is the most complete structure. Starting from the 20th week, the pulse of the pregnancy becomes strong and just using normal headphones can already hear the gestational heart. This is the time when the pregnancy heart can be evaluated thanks to 4D ultrasound to determine the location, size, erm to make a diagnosis of the state of the gestational heart.

Thus, from the 6th-7th week of pregnancy, the pregnant woman should not skip the ultrasound of the pregnancy heart until the pregnancy heart develops fully and completely. Fetal heart ultrasound can detect structural abnormalities, functions of the heart such as: heart syndrome, single-inal heart, pulmonary artery valve atrophy, aortic valve atrophy, ataural canal or simple atrial fibrillation.

In fact, up to 90% of babies are born with congenital heart disease although there is no previous risk factor so the fetal heart is recommended for all women, especially those in the high-risk group as follows:

• Family history of congenital heart disease.
• Pregnant women with diabetes or genetic diseases such as Ellis Van Creveld, Noonan,…
• Pregnant women with rubella infection during pregnancy or with autoimed diseases such as lupus, Sjogren,…
• History of use of certain drugs such as anti-seizure drugs, depressants, insulin, anti-synthetic drugs prostaglandins,…
• Pregnancy thanks to the intervention of artificial inseination.
• In addition, abnormal features of the fetal heart are also factors that cause the doctor to prescribe an ultrasound of the fetal heart such as: arrhythmias, abnormalities of the gestationalchrom ,…

The normal gestational heart rate will range between 120-160 times per minute, but when moving in the womb can increase up to 180 times per minute. The pregnant heart will beat faster at the 20th week but if it is more than 180 times per minute, it may be an abnormal sign that needs to be checked.

With the desire to bring the most special and preferential care to mothers and babies from pregnancy to childbirth, Share99 offers a package maternity care program. Doctors will advise, monitor and take good care of the mother and baby from the gestational period. After giving birth, mothers and babies will be rested and relaxed in a comfortable hospital room with the dedicated and professional care of the team of doctors and nurses at the Health Hub.

Dr Pham Thi Yen has 11 years of experience in examination and treatment in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Doctors with strengths and insights in:

• Examination and consultation of common pregnancies, pathology pregnancies, high-risk pregnancies
• Examination and treatment of gynecologic diseases: cervical inflammation, cervical glands
• Laparoscopic surgery of gynecological diseases : extra-uterine pregnancy, uterine tumor , ovarian tumor
• Surgery for breast tumors, vaginal, cervical tumors
• Obstetric surgery : pregnancy surgery, examination
• Treatment of female endormonal disorders of all ages: puberty, reproduction age; pre-menopause.