Prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease in an Isolated Single Umbilical Artery Is Low at a Tertiary Referral Center.

We examined the prevalence and postnatal outcomes of CHD among patients with an isolated SUA referred to our tertiary care center, hypothesizing that the prevalence of CHD and significant CHD would be low. I To the Editor i : The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine revised its guidelines early this year to recommend fetal echocardiography in patients with a single umbilical artery (SUA) only if a cardiac or extracardiac abnormality is suspected.1 Although an SUA is thought to have a high association with fetal anomalies, including congenital heart disease (CHD), several studies in low-risk or mixed risk populations have shown that an isolated SUA (without extracardiac or genetic abnormalities) is not associated with an increased risk of CHD.2-5 Furthermore, as major cardiac defects are detectable in standard obstetric screening with sensitivity as high as 90%,6 the need for dedicated fetal echocardiography in an isolated SUA has been questioned. [Extracted from the article]

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