Management of medical problems in pregnancy--severe cardiac disease.

Although both maternal and cardiovascular mortality have declined during the past decade, the apparent prevalence of cardiovascular disorders in pregnant patients has remained relatively constant because of three medical advances. These include more accurate diagnostic techniques; improved management, which now makes pregnancy possible for some women who might not have attempted childbirth in the past; and surgical correction of congenital cardiac lesions, which has created a new category of patients reaching childbearing age. The prevalence of heart disease during pregnancy ranges from 0.4 to 4.1 per cent, and maternal mortality ranges from 0.4 per cent among patients in Class I . . .