concerned...(EIF)

Mizsoccer83

I went to my regular OB visit after our A/S with my MFM doctor last week. While we were with my MFM doctor, he did mention a "bright spot" in our LO's heart but didn't seem to put much emphasis on it-just said we will keep an eye on it and wanted me to come back in 11 weeks for another scan to continue to monitor LO's development. We went through all markers for DS and everything looked great-including a lack of any birth defects from medication I am on for Epilepsy.

When I was sitting with my OB today, she mentioned the "bright spot" again and told me it isnt uncommon and not to worry about it. So that, of course, made me worry! Apparantly it is called an Echogenic Intracardiac Focus (EIF) and is present un 7% of normal/healthy pregnancies. It is a calcification in the muscle of the heart and usually disappears on its own. It can be a marker for Downs or other genetic abnormalities, but I am apparantly real low risk for those things.

Needless to say, I get to wait anxiously now, for 11 weeks, to see if it clears up on its own. How nice. Has anyone else every experienced this...? And words of advice, healthy outcomes, etc? TIA.

Mizsoccer83

kitchencolors:

Here's what I was told about our baby's EIF... the cardiologists we met with for the fetal echo (unrelated to the EIF) said that as ultrasound technology has gotten better these things are being pointed out all the time but are overwhelmingly nothing to worry about.  True, they are considered a soft marker for Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities, but my understanding is that if there are no other markers then they don't really increase odds a whole lot.  Even when an EIF is a marker for something, I don't get the impression that the EIF itself is a danger to the baby's heart (but I could be wrong about that).

I hope everything is okay!

 I heard the same thing from a friend of mine who is a tech. And it makes sense. I just never wanted to hear anything other than "he's perfectly healthy" (which we heard a lot of otherwise). I am going to just try to relax and hope for the best...I think it will all work out in the end and like all mom's-I just get anxious and worried. Thank you!

sjp

My daughter had one --she is now a healthy 2 1/2 year old.  We opted for a level II ultrasound just for more peace of mind at the time and after that the MFM said all looked good, so we didnt worry.

GL with everything~

Smallstar

kitchencolors:

Here's what I was told about our baby's EIF... the cardiologists we met with for the fetal echo (unrelated to the EIF) said that as ultrasound technology has gotten better these things are being pointed out all the time but are overwhelmingly nothing to worry about.  True, they are considered a soft marker for Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities, but my understanding is that if there are no other markers then they don't really increase odds a whole lot.  Even when an EIF is a marker for something, I don't get the impression that the EIF itself is a danger to the baby's heart (but I could be wrong about that).

I hope everything is okay!

This is exactly what I was told, and also that they actually hate mentioning them since they are fairly common, but they obviously can't withhold it from us if they see it on the scan. I opted for a level 2 ultrasound just to be sure that everything was ok, and within about 3 weeks of my first A/S, the EIF had started fading on its own.

As part of the level 2 scan, we met with a genetic counselor who was incredibly reassuring. She told us that if that is the only marker they see, the odds are not increased by much and that the NT scan results or any other genetic testing is a far better indication of an abnormality than the EIF. She also showed us how the risk is calculated, and the EIF marker is the lowest risk marker, and is generally not an indicator of a chromosomal abnormality if it presents on its own with no other markers. We were also told that the EIF does not change the development of function of the heart, so there are no long term problems to look out for.

So basically, they hate telling us that our babies have them, as much as we hate hearing it, because in most cases they are harmless and just cause a lot of unnecessary stress.  

Mizsoccer83

Thanks SO much ladies. For some reason-even though I heard some of this from my doctors as well, it is always reassuring to hear it from other people who have experienced it on their own. I am going to assume that it is nothing to worry about since they did not seem concerned and said there werent any other concerns anyway. I think it will all be fine as well. Thanks, again, for taking the time to share your stories/experiences with me!