日本小児循環器学会雑誌 Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Fetal echocardiography is an essential test for the diagnosis of congenital heart disease and perinatal management strategies. Because of the constantly changing position of the fetus, different echocardiography techniques are required to obtain the basic cross- sectional images necessary for diagnosis. Since fetal echocardiography is mainly based on horizontal cross- sectional scanning to evaluate the heart and its great vessels, learning the techniques for obtaining a “clear four-chamber view” and “easy-to-observe four-chamber view” is recommended to improve fetal echocardiography. By applying these techniques, sagittal and short-axis cardiac sections can be visualized, and echocardiography for complex fetal cardiac malformations can be performed with confidence. In this article, we explain the concepts in fetal echocardiography and the techniques for obtaining clear cross- sectional images.