Determinants of long-term outcome of repaired pulmonary valve stenosis.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Although pulmonary valve stenosis (PVS) is considered a low risk congenital heart disease, there have been reports of complications and the need for reintervention throughout follow-up. The aims of this study were to evaluate the long-term outcome of repaired PVS and to identify predictors of cardiovascular complications and reintervention. METHODS: We studied 158 adult patients with repaired PVS (repair procedures performed from 1957 to 2010) receiving active follow-up in a tertiary referral center. RESULTS: A total of 95 patients (60%) received surgical treatment, and 63 patients (40%) received percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty. At the end of follow-up (27 years, IQR, 20-33 years), most patients (n=134, 84.8%) were in New York Heart Association functional class I, but 61 patients (38.6%) required a reintervention, mainly pulmonary valve replacement (17.7%, n=28), and 19 patients (12%) had at least one cardiovascular complication: 13 (8.2%) supraventricular arrhythmias, 6 (3.8%) heart failure, 5 (3.2%) stroke, 1 (0.6%) death, 1 (0.6%) thromboembolism, and 1 (0.6%) ventricular arrhythmia. Multivariate analysis showed that age at PVS repair (HR, 1.08; 95%CI, 1.04-1.12; P <.001) and the presence of cyanosis before PVS repair (HR, 5.23; 95%CI, 1.99-13.78; P=.001) were independent predictors for cardiovascular complications. CONCLUSIONS: Good long-term outcome can be expected after PVS repair, but complications and the need for reintervention may appear. Older age and the presence of cyanosis at PVS repair emerged as predictors of cardiovascular complications and identified a population that may merit stricter control.

Heart failure in pregnant women with cardiac disease: data from the ROPAC.

OBJECTIVE: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important complications in pregnant women with heart disease, causing maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. METHODS: This is an international observational registry of patients with structural heart disease during pregnancy. Sixty hospitals in 28 countries enrolled 1321 women between 2007 and 2011. Pregnant women with valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, ischaemic heart disease, or cardiomyopathy could be included. Main outcome measures were onset and predictors of HF and maternal and fetal death. RESULTS: In total, 173 (13.1%) of the 1321 patients developed HF, making HF the most common major cardiovascular complication during pregnancy. Baseline parameters associated with HF were New York Heart Association class ≥ 3, signs of HF, WHO category ≥ 3, cardiomyopathy or pulmonary hypertension. HF occurred at a median time of 31 weeks gestation (IQR 23-40) with the highest incidence at the end of the second trimester (34%) or peripartum (31%). Maternal mortality was higher in patients with HF (4.8% in patients with HF and 0.5% in those without HF p<0.001). Pre-eclampsia was strongly related to HF (OR 7.1, 95% CI 3.9 to 13.2, p<0.001). Fetal death and the incidence of preterm birth were higher in women with HF compared to women without HF (4.6% vs 1.2%, p=0.001; and 30% vs 13%, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: HF was the most common complication during pregnancy, and occurred typically at the end of the second trimester, or after birth. It was most common in women with cardiomyopathy or pulmonary hypertension and was strongly associated with pre-eclampsia and an adverse maternal and perinatal outcome.

[Progress in pediatric cardiology and congenital heart defects]. / Temas de actualidad en cardiología pediátrica y cardiopatías congénitas.

We present a review of progress reported in the fields of pediatric cardiology and congenital heart disease between July 2004 and July 2005. The review covers diagnosis, medical treatment, interventional cardiology, and surgery. Among advances in diagnosis, we highlight new diagnostic imaging methods such as three-dimensional echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, CT angiography, and tissue Doppler imaging. In the area of fetal cardiology, we focus on advances in fetal interventions, such as percutaneous aortic valvuloplasty, percutaneous pulmonary valvuloplasty, and intact or restrictive atrial balloon septostomy. In interventional cardiology, we highlight advances in the application of percutaneous techniques to adult congenital heart disease to help solve problems resulting from previous surgery, and we review new devices for enabling the percutaneous closure of muscular and membranous ventricular septal defects. In cardiac surgery, a number of developments in valved conduits and in aortic translocation in patients with complex transposition of the great arteries are of particular interest.