Grown-up congenital heart disease

BACKGROUND: Right mini-thoracotomy cardiac surgery has been recognized as a safe and effective procedure, with remarkable early and long-terms outcomes. However, most of the literature is focused on mitral valve surgery and few studies report on the minimally invasive approach applied to congenital disease. Aim of this study was to review our experience on patients with grown-up congenital heart (GUCH) undergoing right mini-thoracotomy cardiac surgery. METHODS: Data of patients with GUCH undergoing right mini-thoracotomy cardiac surgery from 2006 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed...

Rhodotorula species are yeasts that are common in the environment,but are not frequently encountered as an infectious agent in humans. Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodotorula glutinis and Rhodotorula minuta are the species that cause disease in humans. Although its isolation from mucosa is doubtful in terms of the presence of true infection, it is more frequently encountered in daily practice due to the increasing number of invasive procedures, immune system deficiencies caused by immunosuppressive drugs and diseases...

BACKGROUND: Lomentospora prolificans (formerly S prolificans) is a saprophyte fungi that causes opportunistic infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Resulting disseminated infections are difficult to treat and have a high mortality. Indications for antifungal prophylaxis after heart transplantation (HT) include CMV disease, reoperation, renal replacement therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and high environmental exposure to Aspergillus spores. However, the risk of breakthrough infections, such as Lomentosporiosis, remains a cause of concern...

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the field of congenital heart disease (CHD) led to an improved prognosis of the patients and in consequence the growth of a new population: the grown up with congenital heart disease. Until recently, more than 50% of these patients were lost to follow up because of the lack of specialized structures. The critical moment is the transition between paediatric and adult unit. Therapeutic education is crucial to solve this issue by helping patients to become independent and responsible...

BACKGROUND: Irrespective of initial treatment for congenital heart disease (CHD) in childhood, CHD is a lifelong condition, leaving patients at risk for complications. To support uninterrupted, age- and development-based care for young persons with CHD, guidelines and consensus papers emphasise the need for formal transition programmes, including transfer to adult CHD (ACHD) clinics. Here, we surveyed existing transfer and transition programmes in European ACHD centres. Our aims were to provide a contemporary view of transitional care for patients with CHD and to evaluate progress over the last decade...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Patients with a systemic right ventricle (SRV) are at high risk for development of heart failure early in life. An SRV is encountered in patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) or dextro-transposition of the great arteries (DTGA) with previous atrial switch repair (Mustard or Senning procedure). Progressive heart failure is one of the leading cause of mortality in these patients. Therefore, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has gained increasing momentum for use in this challenging congenital heart disease (CHD) population...

PURPOSE: To provide a brief overview of some relevant technological advances in the field of three-dimensional electroanatomical mapping (3D-EAM) that have recently entered the clinical arena and their role in guiding catheter ablation (CA) of complex atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. METHODS: In this technical report, we describe the general features of three novel algorithms featured in the updated CARTO PRIME™ mapping module for CARTO®3 version 7 3D-EAM system (Biosense Webster Inc...

BACKGROUND: Patients with existing or anticipated indications for cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), bradycardia, or anti-tachycardia pacing should not be offered subcutaneous defibrillators (SQIDs) but it remains unclear how clinicians should predict future need for these therapies. METHODS: We applied three SQID selection policies to data collected retrospectively from transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (TV-ICD) implants: (a) approach A, SQID used in inherited channelopathies and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation only; (b) approach B, as above, plus all hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and grown-up congenital heart disease patients; (c) approach C, as above, plus primary and secondary prevention (for ventricular fibrillation only) of SCD in patients with QRS <150 ms...

Many cardiovascular diseases lead to heart failure, which is a progressive syndrome causing significant distress and limiting the quality of life, despite optimal cardiologic treatment. It is estimated that about 26 000 people in Poland suffer from advanced heart failure, and this number is growing. That is why palliative care (PC) dedicated to people living with end‑stage cardiac diseases should be urgently implemented in Poland. Well‑organized PC may not only relieve symptoms and improve quality of life in people living with cardiac diseases not responding to treatment but also support patients and their families during the dying process...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is the leading cause of death in grown-up congenital heart disease patients (GUCH). Although heart transplantation (OHT) remains the gold standard in end-stage heart failure, the ratio of GUCH patients undergoing this procedure remains low. OBJECTIVE: Describe the cohort of GUCH patients undergoing heart transplantation at a third-level hospital. METHODS: A retrospective review of GUCH patients undergoing OHT between 1997 and 2019 was conducted at a single tertiary university hospital...

On 3 December 1967, Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplantation in the world at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. In the succeeding months, heart transplantations in the USA, Asia and Europe followed. On 14 April 1969, &Aring;ke Senning successfully accomplished the first heart transplantation in Switzerland at the former Cantonal Hospital in Zurich. In the summer of 1969, he undertook a second heart transplantation. Although the surgical procedure went well technically, both patients died within weeks to months after transplantation...

The presence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) was found to be associated with a number of medical conditions, including embolic stroke and recurrent transient neurological defects. The closure of PFO remains controversial, however recently guidelines from European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions in collaboration with 7 other European societies have been published, which extensively referring to the latest randomized clinical trials, explicitly recommend percutaneous PFO closure in the prevention of recurrent thromboembolic events...

OBJECTIVES: To provide the first epidemiological lifestyle descriptions of the Italian grown-up/adult congenital heart disease (GUCH/ACHD) population by identifying the determinants of poor perceived health status. DESIGN: Cross-sectional pan-national survey. SETTING: Italian GUCH/ACHD patients who were members of the Italian Association of GUCH/ACHD. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: To discuss these lifestyle descriptions through an ad hoc developed questionnaire and health perceptions (ie, mental and physical health perception) through a short form health survey (SF-12)...

The population of patients with adult congenital heart disease has grown and is currently estimated to include approximately 1 million people in the United States. Cardiologists and imagers frequently encounter complex patients who have undergone multiple prior operations and interventions. A myriad of imaging tests are currently available, including echocardiography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography, all of which collectively provide invaluable information on cardiac anatomy and hemodynamics...

Objectives: To identify the pattern of un-operated grown up congenital heart defects at our tertiary care cardiac institute. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. All un-operated GUCH patients who presented to Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology (FIC) from May 2017 to 30th July 2017 were enrolled. Diagnosis was established on Transthoracic Echocardiography done by dedicated pediatric cardiologist at FIC. The mode of presentation, presenting complaints, type, severity, complications and co-morbid conditions of CHD were recorded...

Thanks to a better knowledge of the genetic causes of many diseases and an improvement in genetic testing techniques, genetics has gained an important role in the multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease and aortic pathology. With the introduction of strategies for precision medicine, it is expected that this will only increase further in the future. Because basic knowledge of the indications, the opportunities as well as the limitations of genetic testing is essential for correct application in clinical practice, this consensus document aims to give guidance to care-providers involved in the follow-up of adults with congenital heart defects and/or with hereditary aortic disease...

BACKGROUND: The goal of the investigation was to analyze the results of heart catheterization in the Cardiac centre Shisong from December 2010 till December 2017. METHODS: This retrospective study done in the Cardiac centre Shisong in adult patients that underwent a procedure in the catheterization laboratory from December 2010 till December 2017. RESULTS: Three hundred and sixty-five adult underwent a cardiac catheterization procedure during the study period...

Right ventricular (RV) function has proven to be a prognostic factor in heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction and in pulmonary hypertension. RV function is also a cornerstone in the management of novel clinical issues, such as mechanical circulatory support devices or grown-up congenital heart disease patients. Despite the notable amount of circumferentially oriented myofibers in the subepicardial layer of the RV myocardium, the non-longitudinal motion directions are often neglected in the everyday assessment of RV function by echocardiography...