Introduction:

cardiac malformations are the most frequent congenital defects in humans. These are structural and functional alterations of the heart, circulatory system and great vessels that develop during cardiac embryogenesis. These defects have an impact on the quality of life of patients and their families, and a better understanding of these defects allows their prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:

to identify the association between congenital heart disease and extracardiac defects in human fetuses.

Methods:

an analytical and cross-sectional observational research was carried out in human fetuses obtained from pregnancy terminations performed by indication of Medical Genetics between January 2019 and May 2020 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. The sample was represented by 42 fetuses, selected through a non-probabilistic purposive sampling. The information was obtained from autopsy reports and requests for termination. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to the data obtained.

Results:

the study showed that most of the fetuses studied were male; ventricular septal defect was the most frequent cardiovascular defect and that among the extracardiac defects, those with the highest incidence were those of the osteomyoarticular system, showing a significant association with ventricular septal defect.

Conclusions:

in human fetuses, osteomyoarticular system defects are associated with specific cardiovascular malformations.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )