Word: ultrasounds
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...pregnant women in the U.S. submit to some prenatal screening. Typically, this involves sampling the mother's blood--so-called serum-alpha-fetoprotein testing to seek out telltale proteins that may indicate spina bifida, neural-tube defects or Down syndrome--or looking directly at the fetus with ultrasound scans. For women over 35, doctors usually recommend more invasive procedures in which actual fetal cells are gathered from the womb's amniotic fluid (amniocentesis) or placenta (chorionic villus sampling...
...their family or to help them avoid sex-linked genetic diseases for which their offspring could be at risk. The procedure took no more than a day and cost a non-reimbursable $2,500 a try. "I actually watched the sperm enter my body on the screen of the ultrasound machine," marvels Monique Collins, 33, of Gainesville, Va., one of the program's first successes...
...meantime, if you took Redux or fenfluramine, be sure to tell your doctor. If he or she detects a murmur or if you develop significant shortness of breath, you will have to have an ultrasound examination of the heart called an echocardiogram to determine whether you need further medical attention. If there is a valve problem, you may have to take antibiotics before undergoing certain procedures, such as teeth cleaning, that increase the risk that bacteria could enter your bloodstream...
...more than girls, especially boys who are overweight. Their heart works so hard to force blood through extra layers of fat that its walls grow more dense. Then, after decades of straining, it grows too big to pump blood very well. Fortunately, the abnormal thickening can be spotted by ultrasound. And in most cases, getting that blood pressure under control--through weight loss and exercise or, as a last resort, drug treatment--allows the overworked muscle to shrink to normal size...
...JUST FOR BABIES Ultrasound, most commonly used to monitor a growing fetus, is as effective as the routine MRI in detecting blood-vessel blockages after a heart attack...