Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic Provides Early Diagnosis

Elizabeth Autry was having an uneventful pregnancy. So when her OB-GYN detected an abnormality in a routine ultrasound, she was shocked.

Elizabeth was referred to pediatric cardiologists at Brenner Children’s Hospital. Dr. Amanda Cook and Dr. James Cnota diagnosed Elizabeth’s baby with tricuspid valve atresia, a rare heart defect. Autry’s son, Isaac, would need immediate medical care following his birth and would eventually need a series of surgeries to correct the defect, which was not allowing adequate blood flow to his lungs.

Pediatric cardiologists screen about 800 women a year in Brenner Children’s Hospital’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinics. Women are sent for additional ultrasound screenings when their OB-GYN notices an abnormality or the mom has a medical condition such as diabetes or lupus.

“Heart defects are the most common birth defects,” said Cook. “Fortunately most of the time we can rule out most major heart defects,” Cook said. “But it’s important for the mother and the baby to be prepared  if there is a problem.”

Often times that means the baby will be delivered at an academic medical center where pediatric cardiologists and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons are on stand-by in case problems arise after birth.

“The diagnosis was very upsetting,” Autry said. “But knowing the doctors had a plan and being prepared helped me feel more comfortable with handing my new baby over for surgery.”

Today Isaac is a healthy six-month-old and is doing very well. Without his diagnosis and immediate treatment for heart failure, Isaac would have been very sick within a few weeks of his birth.

“I give all the credit to the doctors,” Autry said. “He would not be doing as well as he is if the doctors had not been so well prepared.”

Pediatric cardiologists staff several outreach clinics throughout North Carolina, providing anxious parents with a quick diagnosis. The pediatric clinics provide echocardiograms (ECHO), or ultrasound studies of the heart. The clinics also feature telemedicine links, allowing pediatric cardiologists in Winston-Salem to determine which treatment options are needed.

“Our telemedicine service allows us to detect and correct serious heart problems promptly,” Cook said. “Many times a parent becomes anxious when they are told their child may have a heart condition. By traveling to one of seven satellite clinics in North Carolina, pediatric cardiologists are able to meet parents half-way, give them a diagnosis and, in many cases, ease their fears about their child’s health.”

Pediatric cardiology clinics are located in: Statesville, Greensboro, Boone, Hickory, Martinsville, Salisbury, Wilkesboro and Winston-Salem.

For more information about pediatric cardiology at Brenner Children’s Hospital, please call 336-713-4500.