Tag Archives: clinical focus

Background Heart disease is the leading cause of death in pregnant women and, despite advances in cardiology, maternal deaths from cardiac disease have increased over the past 20 years.1 Cardiac conditions such as pulmonary hypertension, severe valve disease, cyanotic and complex congenital heart disease carry a high mortality2 and need specialist care.3 It has been recommended that pregnant women with cardiac disease should be managed in tertiary centres,4 and many cardiologists caring for pregnant women have a background in congenital heart disease, necessary for the management of complex congenital heart disease. Previously reported series