Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Antenatal diagnosis
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Before birth, an obstetric ultrasound scan may be used to screen pregnant women for signs of CHD in their unborn babies. This screening scan is often performed around 20 weeks of pregnancy when the fast moving structures of the fetal heart are large enough to be more easily imaged. If CHD is suspected, a mother will be referred for a fetal echocardiograph, which is a more detailed, diagnostic ultrasound scan by a specialist cardiologist. It is increasingly possible for specialists to screen for CHD as early as 14 weeks, if CHD is suspected from other factors, such as a family history.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Priyamvada Singh, M.B.B.S. [2],Keri Shafer, M.D. [3], Atif Mohammad, M.D.; Assistant Editor(s)-In-Chief: Kristin Feeney, B.S. [4]