Congenital heart anomalies in the first trimester: From screening to diagnosis.

Congenital heart defects occur in approximately 1% of liveborn children and represent the most common form of congenital malformation. Due to the small size and complexity of the heart structures, prenatal diagnosis is most often made in the second trimester of pregnancy. Early diagnosis however offers significant advantages regarding the timing of further investigations, prenatal counselling, and access to management options. In the last decade, advances in antenatal imaging have improved the detection of cardiac malformation with increasing emphasis on earlier pregnancy screening and diagnosis. We aim to summarize current "state of the art" imaging of the fetal heart in the first trimester. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.