Cardiac Scan
During the nuchal scan (11-13 weeks), the anomaly scan (20-24 weeks) and wellbeing scan (30-34 weeks) we routinely examine the fetal heart and connecting blood vessels.
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A specialist examination of the fetal heart is recommended for:
Women with family history of congenital heart abnormalities, those with diabetes mellitus and those taking antiepileptic drugs
Fetuses with suspected heart defect and those with increased nuchal translucency or certain non-cardiac abnormalities detected during the routine scans
Specialist fetal heart scans at the Fetal Medicine Centre are carried out by Professor Julene Carvalho, who is a Consultant in Fetal and Paediatric Cardiology at the Royal Brompton Hospital. The scans are usually performed from 16 weeks of gestation but can be undertaken from as early as 13 weeks if necessary.
If an abnormality is found, a detailed explanation of the problem and the outlook for the baby will be provided to the parents and a plan for the subsequent management of the pregnancy will be discussed.
Why should have a cardiac scan?
A specialist examination of the fetal heart is recommended for:
- Women with family history of congenital heart abnormalities
- Women with diabetes mellitus
- Women that take antiepileptic drugs
- Fetuses with suspected heart defect and those with increased nuchal translucency or certain non-cardiac abnormalities detected during the routine scans
How is the cardiac scan performed ?
The cardiac scan is performed trans-abdominally which means over the tummy.
Specialist fetal heart scans at the Fetal Medicine Centre are carried out by Professor Julene Carvalho, who is a Consultant in Fetal and Paediatric Cardiology at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
What is the price for the Cardiac scan?
Please see list of all our prices on Treatment fees section
Important information about your appointment:
The Cardiac scan duration is usually 45 minutes up to one hour in singleton pregnancies. If there is an abnormality, then more time may be required and sometimes an extensive consultation will be necessary.
Scan report will be available immediately with a print-out after your appointment and emailed to your referring doctor email if this has been provided.
2D (black and white) as well as 3D photos will be given to you with no extra charge.
If you are contacting us for a second opinion, please make sure you provide us with your reports before the appointment.
Please note that here are limited spaces for cardiac scan appointments and there are always high-risk patients in the cancellation list waiting for appointments. Thereby, if you book an appointment but in the end are unable to keep this appointment for any reason, we would be most grateful if you could let us know at least 24 hours in advance so that it can be reassigned.
