I am a 31 yo male that has a history of congenital heart defects, at 3 days old i had coartation of the Aorta to open the narrowing to allow enough blood to flow through. again when I was 18 they had to do another open hert surgery due to the renarrowing of the cort aorta, they had to widen the aorta to allow more Blood flow to pass through. The drs said I only had around 30 percent blood flow going to my lower extremities. December 1st 2014, I had to get a mechanical valve put in do to seaver mitro valve prolapse. My question is me and my wife are expecting our first child in June 2015. My question is what are the chances my daughter will have any heart issues based on my past. My wives dr. Has scheduled a echocardiogram to examine the babies heart, to check if there are any Abnormalities, or anything to be concerned about.
Hi welcome to Chat Doctor. I understand your query and concern. Coarctation of aorta if manged well can lead to good outcomes in the pregnancy. Mechanical valves need good anticoagulation in the form of heparin in the pregnancy. The risk of acquiring heart disease in the offspring is very marginal. It depends on the environmental multifactorial association. I advise you to get a screening 2 dimensional echocardiography for your wife at frequent intervals semi-annually to assess the cardiac output. Avoid any infections in the periconceptional period. An anomaly scan will help to document lesions at the earliest in your baby if any. Consult your cardiologist for expert management, Thank you.