ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Fetal univentricular heart

What is fetal univentricular heart?

4 May 2021

It is a rare congenital heart disease that is characterized by the absence of one of the heart’s ventricles, usually the right, which is why the existing ventricle receives all the blood from the lungs and the body’s deoxygenated blood, forcing the heart to work too hard, which can lead to heart failure.

Research indicates that this condition is related to pulmonary stenosis, which is a decrease in the diameter of the valve that connects the ventricle with the pulmonary artery, causing the decrease of blood volume to the lungs and, therefore, the level of oxygen in the blood is deficient.

Diagnosis and treatment Fetal univentricular heart

This heart abnormality can be identified before the baby is born and can be treated immediately after delivery.

It can be diagnosed by fetal ultrasound after the 36th week of pregnancy.

The treatment will depend on the type of single ventricle in question and the baby’s health and symptoms. Surgery to correct this anomaly must be performed in the first weeks of life, its purpose being to connect the existing ventricle to the aorta, so that it is in charge of supplying blood to the body, except for the lungs, since they will receive the low-oxygen blood directly. 

Our Pediatric Heart Center is the only private center in Mexico to treat heart conditions with an exclusive unit for pediatric surgeries.

We have a group of highly trained specialists made up of pediatric cardiologists, echocardiographers, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, pediatric cardiovascular surgeons, pediatric cardiovascular anesthesiologists, pediatric specialists in cardiovascular intensive care, nurses, medical assistants, perfusionists, psychologists, and social workers.

Services:

  • Cardiovascular surgery
  • Interventional cardiology
  • Pediatric echocardiography
  • Fetal echocardiography
  • Pediatric electrophysiology
  • Fetal electrophysiology
  • Cardiovascular intensive care unit
  • Pediatric cardiology clinic
  • Univentricular Heart Program

Related centers and departments Fetal univentricular heart

Pediatric Center
High Specialty Surgery Center
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • cardiopatiascongenitas.net
  • kidshealth.org
  • aeped.es
  • stanfordchildrens.org
  • medigraphic.com
  • García GC, Díaz RF, Ramiro NJC. Diagnóstico ecocardiográfico fetal y posnatal de la ventana aortopulmonar. CorSalud. 2019;11(1):64-65.
  • Naranjo UAM, Halley RJC, Consuegra CMT, et al. Morbilidad y mortalidad posoperatoria en niños con corazón univentricular según diagnóstico morfológico. Rev Cubana Pediatr. 2013;85(3):.
  • González FAE, Carrete RFA , González FDR. El diagnóstico prenatal de cardiopatías congénitas por ecocardiografía en la provincia de Matanzas, Cuba, de 1990 a 1995. Arch Cardiol Mex. 2005;75(2):159-164.
  • Muñoz-Castellanos L, Kuri NM, Vázquez ACA, et al. Ausencia de conexión atrioventricular derecha e izquierda. Arch Cardiol Mex. 2000;70(6):536-551.

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