Fetal cardiology

Fetal cardiology

The field of prenatal cardiology includes the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, arrhythmias and heart failure in the foetus. 

Fetal echocardiography at the Department of Paediatric Cardiology can be performed from the 14th to 16th week of pregnancy.

There is close co-operation with the Clinical Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine and referring physicians from all over Austria.

We are also regularly available as a reference and second opinion centre for national and international colleagues and centres.

The aim of prenatal cardiology is not only the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects but also the monitoring of heart function in the sense of functional diagnostics and treatment of the foetus transplacentally via the mother. 

The care of mother and child is carried out on an interdisciplinary basis in cooperation between paediatric cardiology, neonatology, obstetrics as well as neuroradiology (fetal magnetic resonance imaging examinations), genetics, paediatric heart surgery and paediatric surgery. 

Decisions for each individual child and the treatment plan are made by the paediatric cardiologist, while the exact course of pre- and perinatal management takes place in regular interdisciplinary meetings with gynaecologists and neonatologists. 

In order to do justice to the very important psychosocial aspects, the Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine also offers psychological care in parallel to medical care.