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SN children

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Original poster

should really be on pregnancy board, but am looking for info on fetal cardiac scans and know that some mums of children with DS have had these scans.

23 replies

misdee · 04/09/2004 22:31

i am having to go to guys hospital next month for a fetal cardiac scan due to DH's DCM. they want to just check for any signs of it. i have been trawling the internet to try and find some info on what the scan involves, how long it will take etc etc and have come up with nothing that tells me what i need to know.

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Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 22:33

sorry for the long title as well.

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edam · 04/09/2004 22:42

I had this scan at Guys (thankfully all OK). Can't remember much detail, sorry, but was like any other scan except much longer. In my case started off with a cardiologist but he couldn't get a good enough image so called a sonographer in. She was ace, found everthing fast and talked me through exactly what she was looking for and what she could see.
They do warn you before they leave that they can't guarantee no heart defects because some only happen just before birth ? for instance, apparently the four chambers of the heart aren't sealed from each other until very shortly before birth. So the scan can't guarantee that a baby won't have a hole in their heart. But it is very reassuring to know that everything is OK at that point. The staff are great, happy to explain anything. Just talk to them and ask everything you can possibly think of.
Happy memory for me as a. relief but also b. sonographer pointed out ds was lying in exact imitation of my position ? with his back to mine, head up, and with one arm under his head!
Hope it goes as well for you.

Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 22:45

do i need a full bladder? dont fancy the tube journey there needing to pee!!

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edam · 04/09/2004 22:54

Not IIRC although probably not a good idea to pee just beforehand... mine was at 21/22 weeks, something like that, so fetus not too far down anyway. Is yours the same stage?
Is this due to your dh's condition? (Tell me to butt out if you like, just being nosy). Mine was due to the medicine I have to take for a medical condition, not the condition itself (which isn't genetic). The relief when you get the all clear (as I very much hope you will) is amazing!

Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 22:57

I'll be 18weeks.

yeah its cos of dh condition that they just want to be sure. i have been unable to find anything on fetal scans and cardiomyopathy and all the people i know with kids with the condition (on other boards) were dx after birth. So maybe they wont be able to tell. arrrrrgh!!

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hoxtonchick · 04/09/2004 22:58

I had a fetal cardiac scan too (hello again edam, did you get my e-mail?), as I have diabetes which is a risk factor. I was 22 weeks pregnant at the time. I don't remember a full bladder. It was a really detailed scan, using a more high tech scanning machine than normal. I had it at St Mary's in Paddington, but come to think of it, I think the cardiologist came from Guy's. It was very thorough & reassuring, we were on a real high afterwards. It was also the scan when we found out that ds was a boy, I remember being so excited. Sorry, this is all about me reminiscing, but I hope it goes ok for you misdee. Ask away with any more questions.

Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 23:01

ooo i'll wonder if i can find out the sex of the baby as well. tho dh wont let me boo-hoo lol.

i am having a Glucose tolerence test the week after as my BMI is slighty above their limit, dd2 was heavey and my mum was dx with diabetes last year.

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hoxtonchick · 04/09/2004 23:04

I am here to answer diabetes questions too .

edam · 04/09/2004 23:04

did you have this scan with your previous pregnancies, or was it not available then?
They wouldn't be scanning you unless they had reason to believe they'd be able to pick up signs that either things are OK or there is reason for concern, IYSWIM. Ask them about it. And, easy to say and impossible to do, I know, but even if they do find something they are concerned about, it may still be OK; don't know how it works with cardio scans but normal ante-natal ones can only indicate possibilities, not actually diagnose problems. So often, when scans indicate further investigations, it doesn't actually mean anything is wrong; most babies are fine. But this may not hold true for cardio scans as they are more specialised - again, something to ask them about.
Hope it goes well. Guys are really, really expert at this so if they tell you it's OK, that's great. And if there is, God forbid, a risk that something may be wrong, you'll have the very best people available to help.

edam · 04/09/2004 23:06

Hi Hoxtonchick, yes, I did, but dh was chasing me off the computer again, the pesky little critter (taking me seriously after I asked him to make me go to bed at a reasonable time and not sit up all night on MN...). Will get onto it! Sounds as if job wasn't mean to be, doesn't it? Wish I'd been there, your dh sounds like a hoot!
Sorry for diverting thread, Misdee

hoxtonchick · 04/09/2004 23:08

He only has your interests at heart! I can see the funny side of the interview now, didn't at the time... xx

Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 23:24

i didnt have the can with my previous pregnancies as dd1 was 2 by then and i was 20weeks with dd2 when dh found out he was ill. As his cardiologist was sure it was a flu type virus that caused the condition they didnt do any check on the baby. however dd2 had an echocardiogram done early this year as they discovered she had a murmur and again they ust wanted to be sure it wasnt DCM.

dh was only dx as an x-ray picked up his enlarged heart (they thought he had a clot on his lung or maybe an infection) which made the a+e dept do an ECG and echo there and then and he then spent 2 weeks up on cardio.

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Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 23:25

that should be scan not can!!

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Original poster

misdee · 04/09/2004 23:29

hoxonchick

did u have the GTT done? how horrible is the glucose drink? oh gawd 3 needles in 2 hrs

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hoxtonchick · 04/09/2004 23:37

I have diabetes all the time, misdee, not only when I'm pregnant, so no glucose test for me. I don't think the drink's too bad though, just like lucozade. I reckon the waiting around for 3 hours will be the worst bit, & that'll just be boring. Don't panic about the needles, people who take blood are such experts it hardly hurts when they do it (unlike medical students...).

Bagpuss30 · 05/09/2004 00:07

Misdee, I had a fetal cardiac scan done with my second child at 21 weeks pg. Was pretty much as Edam says really. It takes a lot longer than a normal scan and my dh saw more of it than me but we were able to rule out the condition that our ds had previously which was great. Just wanted to wish you good luck for your scan.

californiagirl · 05/09/2004 00:18

I had a fetal cardiac scan with DD (due to wiggliness -- OK, due to a suspected 2-vessel cord that turned out to be just wiggliness). It was just like any other scan, only a bit longer. She was just as cooperative for it as for the previous scans, so she spent 90 full minutes doing any kind of acrobatics that kept her heart as far from the surface of my stomach as possible. As a result, I got a bit bruised from the pressure as they tried to get the transducer close enough to see. In the end I was told that DD was "not echogenic" (ie the pictures were terrible) but they were as certain as they could ever be that there was nothing wrong with her heart. Thank goodness I did not need a full bladder!

eidsvold · 05/09/2004 05:08

had a fetal cardiac scan with dd at both 22 and 26 weeks. It is just like an ultrasound only mine was done by a cardiologist - at Kings Hospital - and they are able to do different things. For example - the cardiologist was able to colour the blood to track the flow and focus just on the heart - enlarge the view and do all sorts of things... but primarily - just like the ultrasound - wand on belly, cold gel and the such like. I can;t remember if I had to have a full bladder. don't think so. This was the only scan that dd co operated for.

Dd's heart defect was fairly major and easily visible. From memory it took a while but the time felt like it had passed quickly iykwim.

Perhaps if you look up harris birthright trust - the area of kings hospital that deals with this and other antenatal things you might be able to find out something.

hope that helps.

Original poster

misdee · 05/09/2004 08:07

Thank you. I am now assuming it will be very much like dh echo he had done. they did all the things with colours, pointed out his left valve was leaking as we could see the blood flow leaking backwards, and also the enlarged left side.

eidvold did your baby have further checks after birth as well? Must have been worrying for you. Did they give you lots of information as well? With dh, all iwas told was what his condition was called, it was the CMA that filled me in on everything and what to expect. At least i know what they are looking for.

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lou33 · 05/09/2004 11:29

I had them with teh last 3, as dd1 had heart defects when she was born. It's just an ultra detailed ultrasound, v thorough. Hope it all goes well.

eidsvold · 05/09/2004 11:43

dd had an ultrasound at about 2 weeks old just to check the state of the holes and then had surgery at 8 week sold. Again it was just like an ultrasound on the baby - in fact she had one this year as part of her cardiac check up and that was fun no longer the compliant baby but a very wriggly 2 y.o

We got a lot of information and support from the Downs heart group but also from the children heart federation.... the hospital had brochures about them they also have cardiac liaison nurses - brilliant people.

chf here

eidsvold · 05/09/2004 11:44

we were lucky as we were also able to get lots of information from the internet.... just think of anything you want to ask and don't be afraid to ask - our cardiologist was brilliant and I remember asking all sorts of questions at the scans.

Jecca · 05/09/2004 15:45

Like eidsvold I had a foetal cardiac scan at the Harris Birthright Trust at King's, following a normal scan that had indicated heart problems. I couldn't see much of what was going on but DH could see everything and he said the detail was amazing. I can't remember how long it took, but they certainly didn't rush either the scanning itself or the time they spent with us afterwards. I couldn't praise the HBT staff enough and I'm sure Guy's will be the same.

As for the full bladder, I didn't need one for the scan but on another occasion when I needed to move the baby they just put me in a quiet room with a jug of water and saw another patient. I drank so much that they then had to send me off to have a pee!

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