Mild fetal cardiomegaly noted at Geonatal Stage of 37 weeks & 1 Day

[afrizvi]

Hi,
My wife is pregnant with our first baby and is in her 38th Week of pregnancy. Today at 37.1 week we got an Obsteric Ultrasound scan done and there was a Mild fetal cardiomegaly noted. Doctors have suggested a Fetal Echo to be done. I have got an appointment for the same for the same after 4 days. I'm worried about my baby, if he/she would have some life threatening cardiac trouble or not?

Considering the all the scans and tests till date have been ablosutely nornal and the current weight of the fetus is measured to be 3.2 Kgs, absolutely normal heart beats, what can be the worst case scenario for us?

[srinath83]

We faced the same situation with our child a week ago. Fetal cardiomegaly was detected and doctors suggested for a premature delivery. The baby is out now and we have gone for a 2d echo on the baby. The cardiologist says the heart functioning is normal now and we are awaiting a second opinion from the ped cardiologist.


I would suggest consult a ped cardiac and get his opinion on such cases.
Hope both your babies would be fine.

[Marie M Gleason, M.D.]

Fetal cardiomegaly (heart enlargement) is determined by looking at the ratio of the fetal heart circumference to the fetal chest circumference.   When is baby is of such advanced gestational age as 37 - 38 weeks, the baby is already large and it's position in the uterus may make it hard to see body structures at the best angle to make these measurements.  If you are looking at something from an odd angle, it might look large (or small).  So there is a good chance that this is not accurate.  In fact even trying to address this with a fetal echocardiogram may not be necessary, if the doctor currently feels that the baby's heart function looks good, there is no fluid build up around the heart and lungs, and the baby has normal heart rate, movements and breathing pattern.  If any of those things are not normal, then a prenatal fetal echocardiogram would be indicated.  Rarely a baby who was previously felt to be normal in the earlier part of pregnancy, might develop an inflammation of the heart from a viral infection in the mother, and that could cause changes in the heart size and function.  So if it is a concern and then baby is otherwise well, waiting until after birth and checking is often more accurate.

[Niyariel]

Hello there, I'm also in the same situation as your wife I am also 38wks pregnant due date oct 22. The drs office also told me that my baby might have mild cardiomegaly and honestly I am worried. This is also my first child and to hear that my child may have some abnormalties is devastating to hear. They said they need to do some
Xrays on her heart after she's born. I hope everything is ok and that it's just a false call on their part. I would also like to know if anyone else has been in the situation or knows what that means. I hope both our babies will be fine. Good luck with everything.