Table 2.

Recommendations for cardiac monitoring of ART pregnancies and ART offspring

Study	Subjects	Main findings	Recommendations	Scan period
AIUM, 2020 [34]	ART fetus	ART were associated with an increased risk of CHD	Fetal echocardiography for CHD monitoring in ART pregnancies	Commonly 18–22 weeks of gestation
Bjorkman, 2021 [37]	ART fetus	The incidence of CHD in IVF pregnancies without other risk factors is similar to baseline population rates, and most CHDs diagnosed by fetal echocardiography in IVF pregnancies are clinically insignificant	Fetal echocardiography for CHD monitoring in ART pregnancies with other CHD risk factors
Chung, 2021 [36]	ART fetus	It costs society 5 times more to detect one additional major CHD through intensive screening of all IVF pregnancies than to pay for the neonate’s first year of care	Fetal echocardiography for CHD monitoring in ART pregnancies with abnormal cardiac findings at detailed anatomy scans
Donofrio, 2014 [39]	ART fetus	Infants conceived through IVF are in a higher risk of CHD	Fetal echocardiography for CHD monitoring in ART pregnancies	Generally 18 to 22 weeks of gestation
Kolibianakis, 2021 [38]	ART fetus	The referral of all ART pregnancies for fetal echocardiography is not cost-effective	Fetal echocardiography for CHD monitoring in ART pregnancies with other CHD risk factors, abnormal findings or suboptimal ultrasound views of the fetal heart at standardized obstetric ultrasound examinations	Second trimester, if necessary, third trimester to confirm or refute a suspected diagnosis
Scherrer, 2012 [21]	ART offspring	ART children who live at high altitude or suffer from diseases associated with chronic hypoxia are at risk for exaggerated pulmonary hypertension	Echocardiography for pulmonary hypertension monitoring in ART offspring who live at high altitude or suffer from diseases associated with chronic hypoxia
Sciuk, 2022 [32]	ART offspring	ART children born preterm might display an elevated risk of developing LV diastolic alterations	Echocardiography for cardiac function impairments monitoring in ART offspring born preterm

ART assisted reproductive technology, AIUM American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, CHD congenital heart defect, LV left ventricle, IVF in vitro fertilization