Congenital Heart Disease - Fung Flashcards
What is congenital heart disease?
- General term used to describe abnormalities of the heart and great vessels that are present from birth
- Arise due to faulty embryogenesis during week 3 and 8 of gestation
- 1% of births have a congential cardiovascular defect and are the most common form of cardiovascular disease among children
What are two general categories of causes of congenital heart diseases?
- sporadic genetic abnormalities
2. environmental factors
What are some sporadic genetic abnormalities that may cause congenital heart disease?
Single gene mutations Small chromosomal deletions Trisomies/ monosomies: Turner syndrome (XO) Trisomy 13 Trisomy 18 (Edward syndrome) Trisomy 21 (Down’s syndrome)
What are some environmental factors that can cause congenital heart disease?
Congenital rubella
Gestational diabetes
Teratogens
What is a shunt?
Abnormal communication between chambers or blood vessels.
What is atresia?
Complete obstruction to blood flow
What are the three primary categories of congenital heart diseases?
- left to right shunt
- right to left shunt
- obstruction
What is the main issue in right to left shunts?
Poorly oxygenated venous blood mixes with systemic arterial blood.
Patients with right to left shunts present with what?
Hypoxemia and cyanosis. Also with polycythemia and clubbing of fingers and toes (hypertrophic osteoarthropathy).
Name some conditions with right to left shunts.
Tetralogy of Fallot Transposition of the great vessels Persistent truncus arteriosus Tricuspid atresia Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection Paradoxical embolism
Tetrology of Fallot results from what?
Anteriosuperior displacement of the infundibular septum (which is supposed to form walls between atria).
What are the cardinal features of Tetralogy of Fallot?
- Ventricular septal defect – normally large
- Obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (subpulmonary stenosis)
- Overriding aorta – forms the superior border of the VSD and therefore overrides the defect of both ventricles
- Right ventricular hypertrophy
Describe the clinical features of Tetralogy of Fallot.
- Patients can survive into adulthood even untreated
- Clinical consequences are dependent on the degree of the subpulmonic stenosis
Mild: resembles an isolated VSD and more like a left to right shunt without cyanosis (pink TOF)
Severe:
Greater resistance to RV outflow and a right to left shunt (classic TOF) - Pulmonary arteries become hypoplastic and aortic dilation
- Most patients are cyanotic at birth
- Complete surgical repair is possible
What is Transposition of the great vessels (TOGV)?
- Aorta arises from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery arises from the left ventricle
Normally the aorta lies posterior to the pulmonary artery, but is reversed here - Defect develops due to abnormal formation of the truncal and aortopulmonary septa
Outcome of TOGV depends on what?
- Outcome depends on
Degree of mixing of blood (via a shunt)
Magnitude of tissue hypoxia
The ability of the RV to maintain the systemic circulation
Possible shunts
VSD (35%): stable
Patent foramen ovale, ductus arteriosus (65%): unstable - unstable shunts require balloon atrial septostomy
What are the clinical features of TOGV?
Right ventricular hypertrophy
Atrophic left ventricle
Without surgery most die within first months of life
With surgery can survive into adulthood
What is persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA)?
- Arises due to failure of separation of the embryological truncus arteriosus into the aorta and the pulmonary artery
- Single great vessel that receives blood from both ventricles and coronary circulation
- There is an associated VSD that produces systemic cyanosis and increased pulmonary blood flow (danger of irreversible pulmonary HTN)