Renowned Fetal Cardiology Experts Gather for Phoenix Symposium

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common types of birth defect, affecting nearly one percent of births per year in the U.S. About 25 percent of these infants have critical CHD and will generally need surgery in their first year of life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It is one thing to be able to diagnose and give this diagnosis to your patients,” said Christopher Lindblade, MD, medical director of the Fetal Cardiology Program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. “But it’s another thing when you realize how devastating this news is when the family finds out their unborn baby is missing half their heart, will need multiple surgeries and some day may need a heart transplant.”

Today, physicians are able to work together to improve prenatal detection and outcomes of congenital heart disease, so children can grow and live healthier lives. This is one of the missions of the Phoenix Fetal Cardiology Symposium, which brought together physicians across multiple specialties to discuss important concepts in congenital heart disease, as well as the most recent advances in imaging, diagnosis and management of fetal cardiac abnormalities.

On October 27-31, 2017, Phoenix Children’s Hospital sponsored the 8^th Annual Phoenix Fetal Cardiology Symposium at the Camby Hotel in Phoenix.

Dr. Lindblade, who is the Chair of the Symposium, said the conference is a great educational opportunity offered locally.

“Symposium faculty are prominent leaders in the field of fetal cardiology and fetal cardiac imaging, heralding from Phoenix Children’s Hospital and other prominent institutions across North America,” he said.

Physicians, nurses, sonographers and trainees attended. The symposium specifically targets those interested in fetal cardiac imaging, fetal therapeutic intervention and cardiovascular physiology. The intended audience included cardiologists, obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine specialists, neonatologists, radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, sonographers, nurses and trainees in these fields. Lectures, procedure demonstrations and interactive case study formats focused on expanding evidence-based care management strategies for clinical decision-making.

“The Symposium is the premiere fetal cardiology conference in North America,” Dr. Lindblade said. “It attracts over 250 attendees with an international audience from over 20 countries. There is so much offered in four and a half days.”

Attendees had the opportunity to present accepted scientific abstracts relevant to fetal cardiac disease. Selected attendees presented challenging fetal cardiac cases in sessions designed to be fun and interactive with the audience.

The symposium also had breakout workshops that include hands-on scanning of live models with fetal cardiac disease, fetal extra-cardiac anomalies and a 3-4D echo volume manipulation. An additional breakout session designed for fetal nurse coordinators focused on the role of the interdisciplinary team, which provides psychosocial support for the fetal cardiology family.

Two, half-day pre-conference tracks were also offered. Fetal and neonatal cardiac pathologic specimens were presented, showing their correlation with echocardiography, as well as giving attendees the opportunity to examine pathologic specimens. A second pre-conference course prepared sonographers for taking the ARDMS fetal echocardiography certification exam.

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