Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects 8 in 1000 newborns, with an estimated 3 in 1000 needing intervention in the first year of life. Improved prenatal screening and diagnosis have shifted our ability to accurately diagnose these anomalies to the prenatal stage, offering the opportunity for improvements in prenatal care and follow-up, perinatal planning and parental counselling. This Virtual Issue was curated by the Editors in support of the ISUOG Every Little Heart Matters campaign, which aims to raise awareness and educate ultrasound practitioners worldwide to further improve the prenatal detection of CHD and promote timely referrals.
The issue compiles the latest research and expert guidance on CHD published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, including systematic reviews and original articles on first-trimester screening and diagnosis, and how new artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques might improve prenatal assessment. Selected articles highlight the influence of geographical and social factors on prenatal CHD detection and outcomes, the value of serial prenatal follow-up, and the risk of pregnancy loss associated with CHD. As aortic arch variants and vascular rings are increasingly detected prenatally due to incorporation of dedicated great vessel views into screening, pages in this special issue are devoted specifically to double aortic arch; the topic of fetal aortic valvuloplasty as a prenatal intervention to improve CHD outcomes for select patients is also highlighted. The issue also covers evolving areas such as exome sequencing in fetal CHD, and features two recently published articles on growth factors associated with perinatal fetal brain development and on the use of fetal MRI to assess fetoplacental responses to transient maternal hyperoxygenation, representing novel areas of research in fetal cardiology that are likely to impact future clinical practice.
Explore the Virtual Issue on Congenital Heart Disease.