Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) organises 3D Echo Imaging and Foetal Echocardiography Workshop 2013

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute conducted a three-day workshop on the importance of Foetal Cardiography and the advantages of Foetal Echo in diagnosing heart defects in the unborn baby. Conducted in association with Philips Healthcare forum; Learning for Life, the workshop was chaired by Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Escorts, Dr Smita Mishra, Senior Consultant, Paediatric Cardiology, Fortis Escorts and Dr John M Simpson,Consultant in Paediatric and Foetal Cardiology, Evlina Children’s hospital UK.

Foetal echocardiography is used in ruling out the serious structural cardiac defect and life threatening arrhythmias, a condition when the heart does not beat to the steady rhythm. The diagnosis and management protocols of foetal arrhythmias are based on echo guided evaluation. On the occasion, Dr John M Simpson, Chief Facilitator, of the Foetal Echocardiography workshop said, “The most important consideration in all foetal intervention is the safety of the mother. The intervention is designed to correct cardiac defects of the unborn baby minimising the risk on mother’s health. Through this event, we want to train doctors on best clinical practices available in the future.”

Foetal Echo is a detailed scan of the baby’s heart, the connecting blood vessels and valves. It is useful for prenatal evaluation, particularly high risk pregnancies like elderly, diabetic mothers, family history of congenital heart disease, genetic abnormalities, suspected infection and radiation during the pregnancy, etc. It is done when the doctor suspects any developmental defects in the baby’s heart. Unlike the anomaly scan done in the second trimester, a foetal echo can detect almost all heart defects fairly accurately. The best time for a foetal echo is between 18-20 weeks. A foetal echo is usually done by a doctor who is a foetal medicine specialist and confirmed by a paediatric cardiologist. If the disease is severe and poor qualitative and quantitative outcome of life is expected, doctors may advise termination of pregnancy within 20 weeks. Once the problem is detected in the baby’s heart, expecting mothers should plan delivery in a well-equipped hospital to manage cardiac condition immediately after birth.

Commenting on the initiative Dr Smita Mishra, Senior Consultant, Paediatric Cardiology, Fortis Escorts said, “Foetal Intervention is the latest technique in treating heart disorders in the unborn baby without opening the uterus. In near future, this technique will be available in our country and we hope to save many unborn lives through this technique.”

Jitesh Mathur, Senior Director Philips Healthcare said, “Technology is now enabling more accurate diagnostics of foetal heart defects and anomalies. We are bringing these technologies to India and want more and more people in India to benefit from these lifesaving technologies by educating doctors on the best clinical practices.”

EH News Bureau