Autoantibody-Associated Congenital Heart Block: Outcome in Mothers and Children

Abstract

The development of rheumatic disease in asymptomatic mothers identified by the birth of a child with congenital heart block is common but not universal. The risk for congenital heart block in subsequent pregnancies is low. One third of the children with autoantibody-associated congenital heart block die in the early neonatal period and, of those who survive, most require pacemakers.