Anesthesia for pregnant women with valvular heart disease: the state-of-the-art.

Pregnancy results in dramatic changes in the cardiovascular system. Maternal heart disease complicates 0.2%-3% of pregnancies. Valvular heart disease in women of reproductive age is most commonly due to rheumatic heart disease, endocarditis, or congenital abnormalities. In general, regurgitant lesions are well tolerated during pregnancy because the increased plasma volume and lowered systemic vascular resistance result in increased cardiac output. In contrast, stenotic valvular disease is poorly tolerated with advancing pregnancy, owing to the inability to increase cardiac output in relation to the increased plasma volume preload. The choice of anesthesia depends on the lesion and its severity. Usually, regional anesthesia provides the least amount of alteration in hemodynamics, although general anesthesia for cesarean section can be equally safe when the abrupt changes associated with laryngoscopy, intubation, and extubation are blunted by the appropriate choice of pharmacological agents and anesthetic techniques.