Medical In Utero Interventions

Medical in utero intervention includes drug management of life-threatening fetal arrhythmias and treatment of heart failure. Rhythm abnormalities most often are diagnosed initially by the obstetrician. In many cases the abnormal heart beats are intermittent and do not lead to prenatal compromise.

In some cases, however the heart can beat too fast or too slow and can lead to heart failure and prenatal distress. In these instances, an urgent evaluation by a prenatal cardiologist should be undertaken. In many cases, these life-threatening fetal arrhythmias can be treated by delivering medicine to the fetus by giving it to the mother. This takes a team approach, using the skills and expertise of both the high-risk obstetrician and the prenatal cardiologist. Prenatal heart failure can also be treated in this way in select cases by delivering medicine to the fetus by giving it to the mother.