Most of the pregnant women under the antenatal care of a qualified gynaecologist undergoes Level 2 Scan around the 14-16 weeks of the pregnancy. If the radiologist finds any kind of irregular heart rhythm or there is a family history of congenital heart disease in any of the sibling then Foetal Echocardiography is advised. More than 1% of live births in India have heart defects and therefore getting a Foetal echo around the 16-18 week period is a good decision if any of the above mentioned conditions are present. If the mother has type 1 diabetes, rubella infection during pregnancy or usage of medicines during pregnancy which affect the growth of the foetal heart then also foetal echocardiography should be done to find out the health of the heart of unborn baby.
Echocardiography Test for adults is done by the Cardiologists using the Ultrasound machine with colour doppler features. However for doing foetal echo, the ultrasound machine should be 4D and there should be a 4D Probe. The Foetal Echocardiography is done by a trained radiologist. Foetal heart around the 16 weeks of pregnancy is less than 1 cm and scanning such a small organ is not possible on a 2D ultrasound machine. The 4D machine will create 3D Live image of the foetal heart and these images are interpreted by the radiologist to prepare foetal echo report. Since abortion is allowed till 20 weeks of the pregnancy, it is extremely important to get foetal echo done by the 18th week, so that the family can take informed decision about continuing with the pregnancy if the foetus has serious heart defects.
The cost of foetal echocardiography is in the range of Rs. 5500 - 6500 at our different centres. Most of the radiologists are trained in doing Ultrasound Scans but not all the radiologists are comfortable in doing the foetal echocardiography. Proper training and adequate experience is required for performing different types of ultrasound scans. Foetal Echocardiography is done at our Sector 15 centre in Gurgaon. The centre at sector 15 has the most advanced 4D Colour Doppler on which Foetal Echo can be done in less than 15 minutes. The patient can also get Level 2 Scan and Foetal Echo in the same sitting. This is a very difficult test and only a few radiologists are doing Foetal Echocardiography in Gurgaon. For Foetal Echocardiography in Gurgaon you can get the appointment by calling on the numbers +91-8800188334 / 8800188335 / 8800188336.
One of the most common question asked by my patients is whether to go for jogging or brisk walk. Please watch this video where I have tried to explain all the aspects of jogging and running depending upon various conditions and scenario.
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