Antenatal real-time ultrasound diagnosis of a congenital cardiac malformation.

A case is presented of the antenatal diagnosis of a congenital cardiac abnormality in the fetus of a narcotic dependent mother, diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography. Infants born to narcotic dependent mothers require intensive management for their withdrawal symptoms, which may include respiratory and feeding difficulties. Possible cardiac abnormalities may not be considered as a cause for these symptoms until more overt signs appear. The clinical course of infants with coarctation of the aorta, which occurs in 1/1600 live births, is related to the type and degree of coarctation and to the presence, or absence, of other cardiac lesions. Antenatal knowledge of a cardiac malformation should allow the planning of suitable modes of delivery and prompt treatment even before the onset of obvious clinical signs.