Congenital cardiology

OBJECTIVES: Critical CHD is associated with morbidity and mortality, worsened by delayed diagnosis. Paediatric residents are front-line clinicians, yet identification of congenital CHD remains challenging. Current exposure to cardiology is limited in paediatric resident education. We evaluated the impact of rapid cycle deliberate practice simulation on paediatric residents' skills, knowledge, and perceived competence to recognise and manage infants with congenital CHD. METHODS: We conducted a 6-month pilot study...

UNLABELLED: Ebstein's anomaly (EA), a congenital cardiac anomaly, is characterized by apical displacement of the tricuspid valve leaflet(s) into the right ventricle. We present the case of a 61-year-old female with a history of EA, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and patent foramen ovale (PFO), who presented with worsening hypoxia and confusion, in the setting of left lower extremity cellulitis and abscess. The computed tomography (CT) scan of the head showed a cerebellar infarct with hemorrhagic conversion...

UNLABELLED: We present three cases of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) complicated by congenital esophageal atresia and trachea-esophageal fistula (EA/TEF). The standard treatment for HLHS involves a staged surgical approach, eventually reaching Fontan completion. There is no report of patients with both HLHS and EA/TEF, and no established treatment strategy exists for such cases. Given the significant risk of simultaneously operating on HLHS and EA/TEF, we elected to pursue staged repair for each condition separately...

Evidence from medicine and other fields has shown that gender diversity results in better decision making and outcomes. The incoming workforce of congenital heart specialists (especially in pediatric cardiology) appears to be more gender balanced, but past studies have shown many inequities. Gender-associated differences in leadership positions, opportunities presented for academic advancement, and recognition for academic contributions to the field persist. In addition, compensation packages remain disparate if evaluated based on gender with equivalent experience and expertise...

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment is necessary for the management of patients with congenital heart diseases (CHD). No study has yet been reported on Cameroonian adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of and look for determinants of HRQoL in adolescents with CHD in Cameroon. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with prospective recruitment carried out on 71 adolescents diagnosed with CHD aged 12 to 18 years and recruited at the Douala General Hospital...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect with prevalence of 0.8%. Thanks to tremendous progress in medical and surgical practice, nowadays, >90% of children survive into adulthood. Recently European Society of Cardiology (ESC), American College of Cardiology (ACC)/ American Heart Association (AHA) issued guidelines which offer diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations for the different defect categories. However, the type of technical exams and their frequency of follow-up may vary largely between clinicians and centres...

BACKGROUND: Kallmann-Morsier syndrome is a rare disease characterized by the association of congenital gonadotropic deficiency and anosmia or hyposmia. The cardiac manifestations associated with this syndrome are little known. Through this case, we will characterize the cardiac involvement of this disease in the light of what is already described in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a young patient who presented with a picture of cardiac decompensation revealing restrictive heart disease...

Closure of the large ventricular septal defects (VSD) in infancy can lead to normalization of growth, but data are limited. Our study is done to assess the growth pattern in different age groups of children and lower birth weight babies after shunt closure. This is a prospective observational study that included infants with isolated large VSD operated in infancy. Anthropometric data were collected at baseline and at follow-up, and growth patterns were analyzed. 99 infants were included in the study. The mean age and weight at the time of surgery were 6...

OBJECTIVE: Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) have an increased cancer risk. The aim of this study was to determine cancer-related mortality in CHD patients compared with non-CHD controls, compare ages at cancer diagnosis and death, and explore the most fatal cancer diagnoses. DESIGN: Registry-based cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: CHD patients born between 1970 and 2017 were identified using Swedish Health Registers. Each was matched by birth year and sex with 10 non-CHD controls...

BACKGROUND: A significant percentage of patients with congenital heart disease surviving into adulthood will develop arrhythmias. These arrhythmias are associated with an increased risk of adverse events and death. We aimed to assess arrhythmia prevalence, risk factors, and associated health care usage in a large national cohort of patients with adult congenital heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Adults with a documented diagnosis of congenital heart disease, insured by Clalit and Maccabi health services between January 2007 and December 2011, were included...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: Pain management for infants undergoing cardiothoracic surgery primarily utilises opioid analgesics. There is a paucity of data available for the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ketorolac in this patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated patients between 30 days and 6 months undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. The primary endpoint evaluates ketorolac on reducing post-operative opioid use. RESULTS: Of 243 evaluated patient, 145 met inclusion...

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for the management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) recommend preconception risk stratification and counselling in all women of childbearing age. We assessed the provision of preconception counselling (PCC) among women of reproductive age attending general cardiology outpatient clinics over a 12-month period in two large health boards in Scotland. METHODS AND RESULTS: Electronic health records were reviewed and data on patient demographics, cardiac diagnoses, medication use and the content of documented discussions regarding PCC were recorded...

Birth-associated structural issues with the heart are known as congenital heart disorders or defects. They might alter the heart's regular blood flow. A 10-month-old female child presented to a tertiary care hospital with symptoms of recurrent cyanotic spells with episodes of desaturation a few months after birth. ECG findings depicted a normal sinus rhythm with a right axis deviation along the right ventricular forces. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed a tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia with a patent ductus arteriosus from the undersurface of the arch with confluent small pulmonary arteries...

Three-dimensional reconstructions provide a spatial view of the congenital heart disease with a better understanding of the pathology for parents and allow interactive discussion among the medical team (maternal-fetal medicine specialist, neonatology, pediatric cardiology, and cardiovascular surgeon) and improve both objective knowledge and learner satisfaction for medical students.

Environmental toxicants and pollutants are causes of adverse health consequences, including well-established associations between environmental exposures and cardiovascular diseases. Environmental degradation is widely prevalent and has a long latency period between exposure and health outcome, potentially placing a large number of individuals at risk of these health consequences. Emerging evidence suggests that environmental exposures in early life may be key risk factors for cardiovascular conditions across the life span...

BACKGROUND: Surgically repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart disease with a cumulative survival rate of 72% in the 4th decade of life in longitudinal single-cohort studies. Debate surrounds conservative versus surgical management in adults with TOF once pulmonary regurgitation occurs. CASE PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old male with surgically corrected TOF presented with heart failure symptoms. He underwent ToF repair with a classic right Blalock-Taussig shunt at 2 years of age with transannular patching at 18 years of age...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The study of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) is a rapidly growing field; however, more research is needed on the disparities affecting outcomes. With advances in medicine, a high percentage of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are advancing to adulthood, leading to an increase in the number of ACHD. This creates a pressing need to evaluate the factors, specifically the social determinants of health (SDOH) contributing to the outcomes for ACHD...

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is an established, non-invasive parameter for the assessment of cardiac autonomic nervous activity and the health status in general cardiology. However, there are few studies on HRV in adults with congenital heart defects (CHDs). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of long-term continuous HRV measurement for the assessment of global health status in adults with cyanotic CHD. Methods: This prospective study included 45 adults (40% female, mean age = 35...

Heart University [https://www.heartuniversity.org/] is a free educational website providing structured training curricula with knowledge-based testing and access to webinars and conference recordings for practicing and in-training providers of paediatric and congenital cardiac care. To date, there are over 15,000 registered website users from over 140 countries on Heart University, with over 2,000 training modules and/or recorded educational videos. Heart University has developed an "asynchronous" educational lecture series entitled "Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Care in Resource-Limited Settings...