The Four-Chamber View of the Fetal Heart

Abstract

Although the four-chamber view of the fetal heart is the most widely used prenatal screening tool for the identification of congenital heart disease, its accuracy and reliability remains shrouded in confusion. A recent report suggested the four-chamber view of the fetal heart is obtainable in virtually all cases after 24 weeks of gestatin. In the largest series to date, we report our experience concerning the detection reate of the four-chamber view. In 7739 consecutive second and third trimester ultrasonographic examinations, we found a detection rate of 75%. This rate was lower before 20 weeks of gestation and after 30 weeks of gestation.