|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
advertisement
PREGNANCY AND MVP
|
Pregnancy is one of the conditions that place a considerable burden on the heart, forcing it to work harder, for quite some time, nine months. While a normal heart may be able to take this work load, a diseased heart may not be able to cope as well. Most heart diseases are present before pregnancy, some becoming worse and some manifest for the first time. Valvular disease leads the way, being the most common heart disease in pregnancy. In a study done, 90% had mitral valve stenosis, 6.6% had mitral regurgitation, 2.5 had aortic valve regurgitation and 1% had aortic stenosis. |
The focus of early care in pregnancy is on
avoiding risk factors such as:
An ultrasound is performed to:
|
| When
the patient is stable no special treatment is needed. When there are
signs of hemodynamic compromise, careful fetal monitoring is needed.
Clinical and ultrasound examinations can assess fetal growth and amniotic
fluid volume. Other tests that may be required are cardiotocography
to measure fetal heart rate, color doppler flow studies to measure
fetal and maternal placental blood flow, fetal blood
sampling to detect low oxygen content.
If heart failure develops, the principle treatments remain the same, with dogoxin and diuretics being the cornerstones of therapy. Arrhythmias and anemia are treated. Hospitalization is recommended while things get under control. |
| Many studies have been done in the last 10 years. Early detection and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias if present, is essential to preventing complications. The basic factor in all the studies is that careful cardiac and obstetric management results in good maternal and fetal outcomes. Mitral valve prolapse, without significant mitral regurgitation during pregnancy does not appear to be of significant risk for developing complications. |