At what gestational age is fetal heart activity usually detected with ultrasound?

Fetal heart activity can typically be detected via ultrasound at around 6 weeks of gestation. During this early stage, the developing embryo's heart begins to form and function, allowing it to be visualized with appropriate ultrasound equipment. The ability to detect fetal heart activity as early as 6 weeks is an important aspect of prenatal care, as it can provide reassurance to expectant parents about the viability of the pregnancy.

Later gestational ages, such as 10-12 weeks or beyond, may also show heart activity but usually do not represent the earliest time frame for detection. By 10-12 weeks, fetal heart tones can typically be heard via Doppler ultrasound, but by that point, many healthcare providers are already confirming heart activity from earlier scans. Thus, while the heart is more developed and can be monitored more easily as gestation progresses, the earliest detection remains around 4-6 weeks.