ABSTRACT
Introduction Since the introduction of Doppler ultrasound in prenatal monitoring, numerous studies have investigated the fetal and uteroplacental circulation in low-risk and high-risk collectives. Arterial and venous Doppler sonography is currently most frequently used in the diagnosis and monitoring of fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Fetal blood flow is influenced by multiple factors, including the structure and function of the heart as well as impedance of the distal vascular beds. Specific anatomical cardiac defects may therefore lead to alterations of the fetal and uteroplacental blood flow. The significance of Doppler investigations of peripheral fetal blood vessels in congenital heart disease (CHD) has been the subject of an increasing number of studies, with in part contradictory results. Extracardiac Doppler has been evaluated for the purpose of screening, monitoring of the fetus with known CHD, and predicting the postnatal outcome. This chapter focuses on second-and third-trimester Doppler investigations of the umbilical artery (UA), the middle cerebral artery (MCA), the cerebroplacental ratio (CPR), and the ductus venosus (DV) in fetuses with congenital heart disease.
