Comparative analysis of right heart chamber remodeling after surgical and device secundum atrial septal defect closure in adults.

BACKGROUND: To determine differences in right heart remodeling for patients with ASD who underwent surgical compared to device closure. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of echo data of 121 adult patients with ASD from 2005 to 2015 performed prior to closure and within 6-8 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year post closure. RESULTS: 121 patients with median age of 39 were studied. Patients who underwent device closure were older (46 vs 37 years, P < 0.05) with smaller mean ASD size (1.9 cm vs 2.3 cm, P < 0.05). We observed a similar and significant reduction in right heart parameters and PASP for both surgical and device closure groups on serial echos up to 1 year. Device closure was associated with preservation of TAPSE compared to surgical closure (reduction of 0.2 cm vs 0.6 cm, P < 0.001). Younger adults with ASD intervention (<40 years) had lower baseline PASP (33 mmHg vs 40 mmHg, P < 0.05) compared to older adults (>40 years). This difference persisted up to 1 year with no difference in rate of right heart remodeling. The effects of device closure with better preservation of TAPSE and S' compared to surgery were consistent within both groups of younger and older adults. CONCLUSION: Device and surgical closure of ASD both result in similar improvements in right heart parameters. However, device closure is associated with better preservation of TAPSE at 1 year post intervention. Intervention for older adults with ASD, when compared to younger ones, did not result in a difference in rate of right heart remodeling.

Approach to Cardiac Masses Using Multimodal Cardiac Imaging.

Incidental cardiac masses can pose diagnostic challenges given the numerous differentials, and difficulty in obtaining tissue confirmation without invasive procedures. With recent advancements in cardiac imaging technology, noninvasive efforts to diagnose the intracardiac lesions have become more surmountable. In this paper, we report a case of a patient incidentally found to have an intracardiac mass during routine evaluation. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated a small mass attached to the tricuspid valve, which was not visualized on follow up cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Here, we review the currently available cardiac imaging modalities and discuss their values and limitations. From this, we also propose a workflow in the approach to utilizing different imaging modalities to reach a conclusive diagnosis of undifferentiated cardiac masses.

Comparison of Functional Health Status and Health Related Quality of Life Between Adult Patients With Fontan Procedure and Noncongenital Heart Diseases.

To compare functional health status and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) between Fontan and non-congenital heart disease (CHD) patients in an Asian population. Functional health status and HRQoL (New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), HeartQol and EQ-5D-5L) were measured. A total of 65 patients (twenty Fontan patients, mean age 28 ± 5; and 45 age-matched non-CHD patients, mean age 33 ± 5) were recruited. After adjustment for age, gender and ethnicity, there were no significant differences in functional health status and HRQoL between groups. In an Asian population, Fontan patients have similar functional health status and Health Related Quality of Life compared to non-CHD patients.

TGA With Interarterial Course and Athletes Heart: A Diagnostic Dilemma Answered by Stress CMR.

We report a case of coronary artery compression and athlete's heart in a patient with a history of transposition of the great arteries. We present the diagnostic dilemmas and demonstrate the use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and cycle-ergometer stress cardiac magnetic resonance in the management of our patient. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Increased incidence of infective endocarditis in patients with ventricular septal defect.

BACKGROUND: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is one of the most common congenital heart anomalies in childhood and there is an increasing prevalence of VSDs in the adult population. The long-term risk of infective endocarditis (IE) is of concern. The aim of this study was to clarify and compare the incidence of IE in adults with repaired and unrepaired VSDs. METHODS: Patients with VSDs were identified using the Adult Congenital Heart Disease registry at the National Heart Centre Singapore. Patients were divided into Group 1 (repaired VSD) and Group 2 (unrepaired VSDs). The electronic medical records were searched for hospitalization due to IE during a 10-year period (October 2, 2007-October 1, 2017). RESULTS: Four hundred seventy-nine patients (53% male) were identified, with a mean age of 35.0 ± 13.7 years. There were 164 patients (34.2%) in Group 1 and 315 patients (65.8%) in Group 2. In total, there were eight episodes of IE from six patients (3 male, mean age of 42.2 ± 20.7 years). Two patients had recurrent IE. The overall incidence of IE was 1.67/1000 y, and this is 11-15-fold higher compared to general adult population. The incidence of IE in Group 2 was 1.90/1000 y. There were no IE cases in Group 1. CONCLUSION: Patients with VSDs, especially if unrepaired, carry a substantially increased risk of IE compared to the general population.