Intrauterine therapy of fetal atrial flutter.

An increased awareness of fetal arrhythmias by obstetricians has resulted in a growing number of diagnosed cases of fetal cardiac problems. A fetus with atrial flutter diagnosed at 31 weeks of gestation was successfully converted to normal sinus rhythm in utero by maternal administration with digitalis. The fetal heart rate stayed in a normal rhythm with a maintenance dose of 0.5 mg/day. The fetus was delivered spontaneously at term and the neonatal heart rate has been in normal rhythm without any medical treatment.