Fetal echocardiography: recognition and intrauterine treatment of fetal cardiac problems and prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease.

Recent advances in echocardiography have allowed the anatomical structure of the fetal heart to be successfully and safely seen in details. It has since enabled not only the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease but the diagnosis and treatment of fetal arrhythmias. New advances of Doppler echocardiography have provided exciting informations on the fetal physiology of normal or abnormal fetal circulation. We have performed the fetal echocardiography from 1980 on 564 fetuses which comprised 254 normal and 310 high risk pregnacies. From our experiences we discuss the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease and its method and accuracy, the recognition and intrauterine treatment of fetal arrhythmias, the diagnosis of fetal heart failure, the assessment or research of fetal circulation by Doppler echocardiography, and finally the management for the fetus with cardiac problems and the ethical issue in fetal cardiology.