The Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory uses echocardiograms — a non-invasive test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart — to evaluate and diagnose many different pediatric heart conditions. The laboratory also provides urgent and elective fetal echocardiograms from week 12 of pregnancy to full-term. These screen for structural, functional and rhythm-related fetal heart conditions in high-risk pregnancies, including the following cases:

• Abnormal ultrasound suggesting heart disease or abnormal heart rhythm
• Defects outside the heart
• Increased nuchal translucency
• Abnormal maternal serum screening
• Maternal disease, such as diabetes, phenylketonuria (PKU), and collagen vascular and autoimmune disease
• Maternal exposure to an agent known to cause birth defects
• Family history of single gene disorders or congenital heart disease
• Twin-twin transfusion syndrome