Quality of life in pregnancy after percutaneous closure of atrial septal defect guided by transthoracic echocardiography.

Limited data was available on the general quality of life (QoL) in pregnant women with atrial septal defect (ASD), even though the condition could produce anxiety over health of the pregnancy and fetus. The percutaneous closure procedure was available for ASD during pregnancy; however, pregnant women were often concerned that the required X-rays would harm the fetus. A safe and effective procedure, percutaneous closure of ASD guided by transthoracic echocardiography, was widely used for this condition. This study used the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) to assess QoL in pregnant women with ASD pre- and post-procedure and compared the results to those of healthy pregnant women at a similar stage of pregnancy. Post-procedure QoL in pregnant women with ASD was improved; however, the younger women and those on their first pregnancy performed more poorly in some dimensions (social functioning and role emotional). Our results suggested that these groups should receive more proactive intervention.