Congenital heart disease is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality from birth defectswith an estimated incidence of 6 per 1000 live births for moderate to severe forms.1,2 Accurateprenatal diagnosis offers potential clinical benefit with regard to infant outcome, especially inthose cases that are likely to require prostaglandin infusion to maintain patency of the ductusarteriosus.3–5 Fetal echocardiography is broadly defined as a detailed sonographic evaluationthat is used to identify and characterize fetal heart anomalies before delivery. This specializeddiagnostic procedure is an extension of the “basic” and “extended basic” fetal cardiac screeningguidelines that have been previously described for the 4-chamber view and outflow tracts.6,7It should be performed only when there is a valid medical reason, and the lowest possible ultrasonic exposure settings should be used to gain the necessary diagnostic information. While it isnot possible to detect every abnormality, adherence to the following guideline will maximizethe probability of detecting most cases of clinically significant congenital heart disease.
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