Heart Problems

There has been some confusion regarding what exactly is going on with Baby Girl, so I'd like to take a little time to fill everyone in.

As of right now, she has what's known as a Premature Atrial Contraction (PAC) which means her heart is firing incorrectly and skipping beats. When it started out it wasn't a big deal and the heart rate averaged in the 130's-150's (yay!) even though it was skipping. The doctors weren't too concerned, stating that it would most likely clear up on its own and less than 1% of babies have any further issues. After a few weeks of regular monitoring and ultrasounds the heartrate began dropping down into the 60's and 70's. That slow rhythm is known as a Bradychardia. When the doctors first noticed the Bradychardia they kept thinking they were picking up mine instead of hers. After doing another ultrasound though, they realized that nope, it was definitely her. The doctors informed me we are now part of that less than 1% and would need more tests and monitoring.

At that point it was determined that we needed to meet with a fetal cardiologist for an in-depth fetal echocardiogram. The purpose of this was to confirm that there wasn't an obvious physical defect in the heart and surrounding areas that could be causing the PAC/Bradychardia. Thankfully the cardiologist didn't find any structure problems or excess fluid, though she said that small muscular and minor valve issues could be present that just can't be seen with a fetal echo. She recommended an EKG once the baby is born and said if Baby Girl is having problems after birth she may need medication.

This is good. Everyone was concerned that it might be serious enough to require immediate delivery, surgery, and a pace maker. So this is good.

In the meantime Baby Girl and I are now going to appointments every Monday and Friday where we do an in-depth ultrasound and non-stress test. These appointments typically last anywhere from 2-4 hours. We also have a regular OB appointment on Wednesdays just to keep an eye on the heartbeat. The doctors don't want too many days to lapse in between appointments in case the heart develops any new issues or begins to deteriorate. We also have an appointment with the Neonatologist next week to discuss what's going on, how these problems will affect the birth, and how they will affect her after the birth. Hopefully this will be another "good" appointment simply giving us reassurance and best case scenarios, but the fact that the Neonatologist is getting involved at all means that this is not a minor issue to be taken lightly. Right now we are at a "wait and see" point. If the PAC/Bradychardia continues to remain the same, there is every chance we should be able to make it to full term. If something shows up on one of the ultrasounds, or the heartrate drops into the 50's, we will revisit the possibility of early delivery.

We will continue updating this blog regularly to keep everyone informed in an attempt to avoid misinformation. Please let me know if you have any questions and continue to keep Baby Girl in your thoughts and prayers.