Heart Disease in Pregnancy

* Includes chapters dedicated to each condition affecting pregnant women, including acquired and congenital heart disease, and associated medical conditions * Provides the relevant obstetric knowledge and processes needed for a cardiologist to successfully manage a pregnant woman * Includes a highlighted section on cardiac emergencies in pregnancy for quick reference All cardiologists will be called on to assess and manage pregnant women, however the majority have had little or no training in the subject. In the same way, obstetricians assess women with cardiac conditions, and therefore require the knowledge to both refer patients with heart disease as well as to manage them through the pregnancy. However a recent enquiry into maternal deaths has highlighted that morbidity and mortality of women with heart disease in pregnancy has continued to increase over the last 15 years and substandard care has been identified in 40% of cases. Recommendations have been made that women with, or at risk of, heart disease are screened and counselled on the appropriate risks of undergoing a pregnancy, and as a result all physicians involved need a good understanding of the subject and access to the relevant information. A concise handbook written for cardiology and obstetric trainees and consultants, as well as specialist nurses and midwives, Heart Disease in Pregnancy provides a detailed introduction to the physiological changes of pregnancy and gives practical advice on the management of women with heart disease who are pregnant or who are considering pregnancy. It also provides the relevant obstetric knowledge and processes needed for a cardiologist to successfully manage a pregnant woman. Dawn Adamson , Consultant Interventional and Obstetric Cardiologist, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire, UK, Mandish Dhanjal , Consultant Obstetrician, Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust, London, UK, and Catherine Nelson-Piercy , Consultant Obstetric Physician, St Thomas' Hospital, Guys & St Thomas' Hospital Trust, UK CONTENTS 1: Physiological changes in pregnancy 2: The normal cardiac examination in pregnancy 3: Investigations in pregnancy 4: Ischaemic heart disease 5: Native valvular heart disease 6: Infective endocarditis 7: Pregnancy post cardiac surgery 8: Cardiac surgery in pregnancy 9: Arrhythmias 10: Cardiomyopathies 11: Pulmonary hypertension 12: Aortic pathology 13: Cyanotic heart disease 14: Acyanotic congenital heart disease 15: Hypertension 16: Thromboembolic disease 17: Anti-coagulation in pregnancy 18: Cardiac emergencies in pregnancy 19: Pharmacology in pregnancy 20: The multidisciplinary team management of heart disease in pregnancy 21: Epidemiology of heart disease in pregnancy 22: Pre-pregnancy counselling 23: Contraception 24: Obstetric care for the non-obstetrician 25: Assisted reproduction techniques and surrogacy 26: Obstetric anaesthesia and cardiac disease