Perinatal Cardiology

Perinatal cardiology is an important developing field as high quality ultrasound is used on a growing number of pregnant women, and diagnosis prior to birth will become a more common occurrence. In addition, highly sensitive noninvasive diagnostic tools, advances in neonatal care and anesthesia, evolution of transcatheter interventional procedures and performance of complicated surgical procedures in the neonate and young infant have advanced to such an extent that almost all congenital cardiac defects can be diagnosed and “corrected.”  Illustrated with over 500 figures, this book by leaders in the fields of pediatric cardiology, neonatology, pediatric cardiovascular surgery and interventional pediatric cardiology focuses on congenital heart defect issues during the perinatal period: prenatal (before birth) and neonatal (first month after birth).

This book discusses the three major areas of perinatal cardiology:

1. Provides an overview of advances in perinatology, neonatology, cardiology and cardiac surgery in making early diagnosis and offering treatment options for patients with CHD.
2. The concept of the multidisciplinary approach to managing infants with congenital cardiac lesion.
3. Evidence-based therapeutic approaches to successfully treat the fetus and the newborn with congenital cardiac lesions.

Audience: Pediatric cardiologists, cardiologists, neonatologists, maternal-fetal specialists, pediatric intensivists, cardiovascular surgeons, and house-staff in pediatric cardiology and neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.

Dr. Rao's vision of the direction of pediatric cardiology has led to his acceptance that a great part of serious congenital heart disease is now managed in the perinatal period… This book is written not only for the pediatric cardiologist but for all those specialists and subspecialists who participate in a programmatic approach to the child with congenital heart disease, from the embryologist to the pediatrician or family practitioner to the hands of caregivers in the tertiary care setting.

-    From the Foreword by William B. Strong, MD