Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of physical defect present in a baby at birth. While it occurs in nine of every 1,000 live births, it is not always identified early and referred to a pediatric cardiologist. Lack of early detection may lead to the need for urgent evaluation in a hospital that does not have access to pediatric specialists. Therefore, there is a need for all cardiac sonographers, regardless of their pediatric experience, to be able to detect CHD and recognize those cases that are critical in nature. To assist these clinicians, the American Society of Echocardiography created Recommendations for the Adult Cardiac Sonographer Performing Echocardiography to Screen for Critical Congenital Heart Disease in the Newborn, which provides the adult sonographer, who does not typically screen for critical congenital heart disease (C-CHD), with the essential information and tools needed to detect C-CHD in newborns and aid in life-saving diagnosis. Read more here.
March 3, 2021 By