Which condition is categorized under WHO group III?

Which condition is categorized under WHO group III?

• A. Complex CHD
• B. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• C. Marfan syndrome with no aortic dilation
• D. Peripartum cardiomyopathy

Answer: (A)

Complex congenital heart disease carries the most significant risk to both mother and fetus during pregnancy, which is why it sits in WHO Group III. In Group III, conditions are associated with a substantially increased risk of maternal mortality or major morbidity, and they require specialized care in a high-risk obstetric–cardiology setting. The physiological changes of pregnancy—expanded blood volume, higher cardiac output, and increased heart rate—place a heart with complex malformations or residual lesions into a fragile state, raising chances of heart failure, arrhythmias, hypoxemia, and thromboembolism. That substantial risk profile is what makes complex CHD the best fit for Group III. The other conditions listed generally do not carry the same universally high risk designation. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be managed with careful monitoring and is often categorized as Group II unless there are severe obstruction or heart failure symptoms. Marfan syndrome without aortic dilation typically doesn’t confer the same level of risk as complex CHD. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is serious, but its risk category can vary with the degree of cardiac dysfunction; the standard emphasis in this question is on complex CHD's clear placement in Group III.

Complex congenital heart disease carries the most significant risk to both mother and fetus during pregnancy, which is why it sits in WHO Group III. In Group III, conditions are associated with a substantially increased risk of maternal mortality or major morbidity, and they require specialized care in a high-risk obstetric–cardiology setting. The physiological changes of pregnancy—expanded blood volume, higher cardiac output, and increased heart rate—place a heart with complex malformations or residual lesions into a fragile state, raising chances of heart failure, arrhythmias, hypoxemia, and thromboembolism. That substantial risk profile is what makes complex CHD the best fit for Group III.

The other conditions listed generally do not carry the same universally high risk designation. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be managed with careful monitoring and is often categorized as Group II unless there are severe obstruction or heart failure symptoms. Marfan syndrome without aortic dilation typically doesn’t confer the same level of risk as complex CHD. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is serious, but its risk category can vary with the degree of cardiac dysfunction; the standard emphasis in this question is on complex CHD's clear placement in Group III.