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Fetal cardiac function does not follow adult rules and missing that distinction is where assessments go wrong. This post covers a systematic 4-pillar approach to fetal cardiac function assessment: systolic function, diastolic filling, the MPI/Tei Index, and venous Doppler, with the CVP Score, an 8-step scan protocol, and the full hierarchy of cardiac compromise from…
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When the fetal heart is asked to pump five times its normal output, it is not diseased – it is drowning in volume. This article covers the recognition, echo-based monitoring, and gestational-age-specific management of high cardiac output states in the fetus, including AV malformations, sacrococcygeal teratoma, and placental chorioangioma. With a practical CCO threshold framework,…
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A normal karyotype after elevated nuchal translucency does not clear the fetal heart. NT is an independent marker of cardiac risk, driven by abnormal lymphatic drainage and disrupted haemodynamic flow — not chromosomes. This post covers the risk data, the referral thresholds, and why acting early changes outcomes.
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The fetal cardiac axis takes ten seconds to assess and appears on every four-chamber view — yet it is routinely skipped. This post covers how to measure it, what the normal range means, and what an abnormal axis should trigger. With a clinical decision algorithm and diagnostic differential for leftward deviation, rightward deviation, and extracardiac…
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A normal echo is genuinely reassuring. But it is only as reassuring as the quality of the study behind it. One well-done study is enough. A limited one that came back normal — that is a different conversation entirely.
Fetal Cardiac Care 