• P Boris W Cox, Wiebke Gogarten, and Marco A E Marcus.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Management, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands.
• Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2005 Jun 1; 18 (3): 257-62.

Purpose Of ReviewAn estimated 0.5-4% of pregnant patients have cardiac disease, such as rheumatic disease, which is decreasing in Western countries, uncorrected congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy and ischaemic heart disease. There has been an increase in maternal mortality due to cardiac causes. Congenital heart disease is becoming the most common source of cardiac problems in the pregnant patient, because patients are increasingly likely to survive to childbearing age with the improvement of surgery.Recent FindingsThe increasing age of patients conceiving their first child is also an important factor. A comprehensive understanding of the physiology of pregnancy and the pathophysiology of maternal cardiac disease is of great importance for anaesthesiologists, gynaecologists and cardiologists involved in peripartum care.SummaryWe try to give a brief and comprehensive review on this topic.

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