Congenital Heart Disease Flashcards
What are the 4 most common congenital heart defects?
Ventricular septal defect
ductus arteriosis
Atrial septal defect
pulmonary/aortic stenosis
Is coarctation of the aorta a congenital heart defect?
Yes
What are the 5 Ts for cyanotic lesions?
TGA - Transposition of the great arteries
Tetralogy of Fallot
Tricuspid atresia (or pulmonary atresia)
Truncus arteriosis
Total anomalous pulmonary venous return
list 3 acyanotic shunted lesions
Shunted means that it bypasses something => there is a shift from left to right (note than very early in life the shunt is in the opposite direction)
Ventricular septal defect
arterial septal defect
ductus arteriosis
Note: acyanotic here is only if isolated. usually these occur with other cardiac issues and hence may still present cyanotic.
list 2 acyanotic non-shunted lesions
aortic stenosis
coarctation of the aorta
When is the antenatal anomaly scan conducted to detect the presence of CHD in utero?
20 weeks gestation
Pulse oximetry may be used to screen for these diseases.
What is the cutoff in room temperature that warrants further investigation?
What is meant by pre and post ductal oxygen sat?
<95% sat under room air conditions
the “duct” refers to ductus arteriosis. Pre-ductal is taken from the right arm as the right subclavian artery occurs before the ductus arteriosis. Post-ductal is taken on either foot as the abdominal aorta is after the duct.
What investigations would you carry out to investigate a suspected case of CHD?
History and physical exam (CVS and resp)
MUST INCLUDE: Vitals and growth parameters including pre and post-ductal sats and 4 limb blood pressure
Blood gas and hyperoxia test
ECG
CXR
Cardiology consult (get used to saying that) for ECHO
Genetic evaluation
For 5/5 must include plot weight and height centiles
If the suspected CHD is duct-dependent (ductus arteriosis), what must you ensure is given to the infant while they are awaiting transfer to a tertiary hospital?
Prostin which is a prostaglandin used to either induce labour in pregnant women or to keep the duct open temporarily.
Note: Prostaglanding synthetase inhibitors are used to seal off patent ductus arteriosis. makes sense!
What are the 4 components of the tetralogy of Fallot?
Severe pulmonary stenosis
Right ventricular hypertrophy
large ventricular septal defect
Overriding aorta that lays astride the ventral septal defect rather than the left ventricle
What is hypoplastic left heart syndrome (2 things)
Left side of heart poorly developed
Left sided valves (mitral and aortic) small or absent
What is the transposition of the great arteries. How do these babies survive?
Complete separation of pulmonary and systemic circulation with the right ventricle pumping into the aorta and left ventricle pumping to the pulmonary artery. => desaturated blood circulates the body while saturated blood continuously circulates the lungs
=> these babies need a septal defect or patent ductus arteriosis to survive and mix the 2 systems.
When does TGA (transposition of great arteries) normally present?
first few days of life
Tricuspid atresia usually presents with severe cyanosis.
What is tricuspid atresia?
What other CHD is it associated with?
How do these babies survive?
Absent tricuspid valve with hypoplastic right ventricle and and pulmonary artery (=> right ventricle and pulmonary artery are poorly developed)
A/w TGS (transposition of great arteries)
Requires associated defects for survival (septal defect of PDA)
Patent ductus arteriosis (also applies for AVSD):
What would you prescribe to close a patent ductus arteriosis
What would you prescribe to try and keep the defect open? Why would you want to do that?
Prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor (e.g. Ibuprofen)
PGE1 (prostaglandin E1) is used to keep it open. We would want to do that in cases where the survival of a child with a congenital heart defect (such as tetralogy of fallot and transposition of the great arteries) depends on mixing via PDA or AVSD. Also maybe for transferring to a tertiary center.
What % of all newborns have congenital heart disease
What % of down syndrome patients have a congenital heart defect?
1%
50%
How is neonatal CHD screening done in Ireland for discharge?
Involves taking O2 sats where it is >95% on room air via pulse oximetry
What is the characteristic presentation of CHD in infants?
What findings on a cardiac exam would support CHD diagnosis?
Murmur + Resp distress + poor feeding/failure to thrive/weight stagnation
Prominent cardiac impulse
Weak pulse
Liver edge
murmurs (Red flag = S3 gallop)
What is the gold standard method of diagnosing CHD? Give other methods
ECHO gold standard. Also X-ray and ECG.
4 limb BP and pre+post ductal O2 sats (right arm and lower limb)