Congenital complete heart block

A congenital complete heart block is a markedly slower heartbeat of the fetus .

The cause can be an underlying rheumatic disease in the mother, e.g. As a systemic lupus erythematosus or Sjogren's syndrome or a malformation of the conduction system of the heart to be. This can cause life-threatening heart failure in some of the unborn babies. It is important to examine the SS-A / Ro and SS-B / La antibodies in the mother's blood, because these autoantibodies cause changes in the heart muscle tissue of the unborn child in rheumatic diseases.

Since not all children of mothers with SS-A / Ro and SS-B / La-AK also develop symptoms, prophylactic immunosuppressive therapy is not generally indicated. However, it is recommended that in such cases, from the 16th week of pregnancy, regular ultrasound examinations of the heart of the fetus are performed. If an AV block I or II ° is found, prophylactic treatment of the mother with a steroid or plasmapheresis is discussed.

From the 22nd week of pregnancy, a pacemaker electrode can be implanted in some cases using fetal surgery .

Individual evidence

1. ^ V. Wahn: Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus. In: Monthly Pediatric Medicine 2006, 154: 1203–1206
2. ↑ E. Feist et al: Successful therapeutic management of high-risk pregnancy in primary Sjogren's syndrome with plasmapheresis and dexamethasone. In: Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie 55 (1996), No. 2, pp. 127-132

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