some encouragement please 20 week US found calcium deposit on baby's heart

Re: some encouragement please 20 week US found calcium deposit on baby's heart

• Gators&BoSox member

  March 2015

  Hi! We had the same thing happen to us at twenty weeks. I know how scary it can feel even when you try to look at everything logically. In our situation, my risk for Downs is very low. Also, nothing else on our scan was alarming in the least. My Dr. said that with technology improving at such a rapid rate, they are seeing the calcium deposit more and more. He said he wished he didn't even have to tell parents about the spot if there are no other concerns but he legally has to. In a few years though, it may not even be considered a soft marker. We didn't do any additional blood work but we did have an extra detailed ultrasound and again everything else was perfect. That paired with us talking to a genetic counselor really helped ease my mind and now it is not even a concern for me. I hope you can find a way not to worry and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!  

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• pixieprincss member

  March 2015

  DS1 had an echogenic cardiac focus on his heart at 19w. My doctor and our genetic counselor (we were seeing a GC for another issue) were not concerned at all. Apparently these bright spots are very common. In the Asian population, something like 30% of fetuses have them. While I am not Asian, it helped me understand what a non-issue this is in the absence of any other risk factors. I asked our dr what the follow-up was and he said nothing. He said if this was the old days when he could withhold info, he wouldn't even mention the spot because it is *that* not concerning to him. His phrasing was weird, but I appreciated his sentiment. Because of another issue, I ended up getting a second anatomy scan at 26 weeks and they saw that the spot had already resolved itself. LO was born perfectly healthy.

  

  
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• Miz_Liz member

  March 2015

  My best friend's son had this too....he will be 4 this month and perfectly healthy!

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• carlyclayton member

  March 2015

  This was found on our 16 week U/S too. My OB said that she wished she didn't even have to tell me because it's so unlikely that it means anything. She also said she usually has this conversation once a day. To be safe, she sent me to a high-risk OB for more detailed U/S to make sure there were no other markers, and there weren't. The high-risk OB scheduled me to come in for another U/S in 6 weeks to see if it has cleared up (which happens often). We got the results back from the triple screen and our odds from that were 1 in 10,000. My age related risk was 1/788. After the EIF was entered into the equation, he calculated our overall risk at about 1 in 2,500. 

  
  

  I have done a LOT of reading on the topic, and if I was being logical, I wouldn't be worried at all. I know it's almost impossible when it's happening to you though. That being said, EIFs are pretty common and are barely a marker anymore. I've read that if it's isolated (i.e. no other markers), it's not even considered a marker by many OBs. My OB told me if I was going to Google it, to only read medical websites. I did mostly look at medical websites and scholarly articles, but I admit I read some person experiences too. The personal experiences honestly made me feel better. It happens a LOT, I couldn't even get through all of the posts about it. I did find ONE that said it was their only marker and that they had a baby with Downs, but I don't even know their age etc. so I'm trying not to let it worry me.

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