Favorable Outcome in a Pregnancy With Complete Fetal Heart Block and Severe Bradycardia

Abstract

In Brief BACKGROUND Pregnancies complicated by congenital heart block usually have a poor prognosis when there is severe fetal bradycardia. CASE We present a pregnancy with fetal heart rate of 40 beats per minute. She previously delivered a child with third-degree heart block by cesarean at 28 weeks. This pregnancy was complicated by a high ribonucleoprotein antibody anti-Ro/SSA titer and fetal bradycardia. The patient was treated with steroids and β-mimetics. The fetus continued to grow normally with reassuring biophysical profiles. After fetal lung maturity documentation at 34 weeks, she delivered by repeat cesarean a healthy 2349-g infant who required a permanent pacemaker. CONCLUSION Reassuring antepartum testing and normal growth in pregnant women with anti-Ro/SSA antibodies and congenital heart block may allow expectant management until fetal maturity. Congenital heart block and severe fetal bradycardia, with a structurally normal heart, is managed successfully with standard fetal testing until documentation of fetal lung maturity.