Fetal congestive heart failure

Fetal echocardiography is used in the diagnosis of many forms of congenital heart disease, and in the assessment of the prognosis of cardiac lesions based on their anatomy and presentation in utero. However, the presence of signs of fetal heart failure such as hydrops or valvular regurgitation makes the assessment of prognosis more difficult. A tool for this assessment is the 'cardiovascular profile score', which combines ultrasonic markers of fetal cardiovascular unwellness based on univariate parameters that have been correlated with perinatal mortality. This profile could become the 'heart failure score' and could potentially be used in much the same way as and in combination with the biophysical profile score. This article will present a straightforward method for rapid evaluation of a fetus that may have congestive heart failure. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.