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Ebstein's cardiophysiology typically presents as an (antidromic) AV reentrant tachycardia with associated pre-excitation. In this setting, the preferred medication treatment agent is procainamide. Since AV-blockade may promote conduction over the accessory pathway, drugs such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and digoxin are contraindicated.
If atrial fibrillation with pre-excitation occurs, treatment options include procainamide, flecainide, propafenone, dofetilide, and ibutilide, since these medications slow conduction in the accessory pathway causing the tachycardia and should be administered before considering electrical cardioversion. Intravenous amiodarone may also convert atrial fibrillation and/or slow the ventricular response.
The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) recommends surgical intervention for these indications:
- Limited exercise capacity (NYHA III-IV)
- Increasing heart size (cardiothoracic ratio greater than 65%)
- Important cyanosis (resting oxygen saturation less than 90% - level B)
- Severe tricuspid regurgitation with symptoms
- Transient ischemic attack or stroke
The CCS further recommends patients who require operation for Ebstein's anomaly should be operated on by congenital heart surgeons who have substantial specific experience and success with this operation. Every effort should be made to preserve the native tricuspid valve.
A device, known as the Amplatzer muscular VSD occluder, may be used to close certain VSDs. It was initially approved in 2009. It appears to work well and be safe. The cost is also lower than having open heart surgery. The device is placed through a small incision in the groin.
The Amplatzer septal occluder was shown to have full closure of the ventricular defect within the 24 hours of placement. It has a low risk of embolism after implantation. Some tricuspid valve regurgitation was shown after the procedure that could possibly be due from the right ventricular disc. There have been some reports that the Amplatzer septal occluder may cause life-threatening erosion of the tissue inside the heart. This occurs in one percent of people implanted with the device and requires immediate open-heart surgery. This erosion occurs due to improper sizing of the device resulting with it being too large for the defect, causing rubbing of the septal tissue and erosion.
Sometimes CHD improves without treatment. Other defects are so small that they do not require any treatment. Most of the time CHD is serious and requires surgery and/or medications. Medications include diuretics, which aid the body in eliminating water, salts, and digoxin for strengthening the contraction of the heart. This slows the heartbeat and removes some fluid from tissues. Some defects require surgical procedures to restore circulation back to normal and in some cases, multiple surgeries are needed.
Interventional cardiology now offers patients minimally invasive alternatives to surgery for some patients. The Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve (TPV), approved in Europe in 2006 and in the U.S. in 2010 under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE), is designed to treat congenital heart disease patients with a dysfunctional conduit in their right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). The RVOT is the connection between the heart and lungs; once blood reaches the lungs, it is enriched with oxygen before being pumped to the rest of the body. Transcatheter pulmonary valve technology provides a less-invasive means to extend the life of a failed RVOT conduit and is designed to allow physicians to deliver a replacement pulmonary valve via a catheter through the patient’s blood vessels.
Most patients require lifelong specialized cardiac care, first with a pediatric cardiologist and later with an adult congenital cardiologist. There are more than 1.8 million adults living with congenital heart defects.
Treatment is not necessary in asymptomatic patients.
The treatment options for mitral stenosis include medical management, mitral valve replacement by surgery, and percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty by balloon catheter.
The indication for invasive treatment with either a mitral valve replacement or valvuloplasty is NYHA functional class III or IV symptoms.
Another option is balloon dilatation. To determine which patients would benefit from percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, a scoring system has been developed. Scoring is based on 4 echocardiographic criteria: leaflet mobility, leaflet thickening, subvalvar thickening, and calcification. Individuals with a score of ≥ 8 tended to have suboptimal results. Superb results with valvotomy are seen in individuals with a crisp opening snap, score < 8, and no calcium in the commissures.
Treatment also focuses on concomitant conditions often seen in mitral stenosis:
- Any angina is treated with short-acting nitrovasodilators, beta-blockers and/or calcium blockers
- Any hypertension is treated aggressively, but caution must be taken in administering beta-blockers
- Any heart failure is treated with digoxin, diuretics, nitrovasodilators and, if not contraindicated, cautious inpatient administration of ACE inhibitors
a) Surgical closure of a Perimembranous VSD is performed on cardiopulmonary bypass with ischemic arrest. Patients are usually cooled to 28 degrees. Percutaneous Device closure of these defects is rarely performed in the United States because of the reported incidence of both early and late onset complete heart block after device closure, presumably secondary to device trauma to the AV node.
b) Surgical exposure is achieved through the right atrium. The tricuspid valve septal leaflet is retracted or incised to expose the defect margins.
c) Several patch materials are available, including native pericardium, bovine pericardium, PTFE (Gore-Tex or Impra), or Dacron.
d) Suture techniques include horizontal pledgeted mattress sutures, and running polypropylene suture.
e) Critical attention is necessary to avoid injury to the conduction system located on the left ventricular side of the interventricular septum near the papillary muscle of the conus.
f) Care is taken to avoid injury to the aortic valve with sutures.
g) Once the repair is complete, the heart is extensively deaired by venting blood through the aortic cardioplegia site, and by infusing Carbon Dioxide into the operative field to displace air.
h) Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography is used to confirm secure closure of the VSD, normal function of the aortic and tricuspid valves, good ventricular function, and the elimination of all air from the left side of the heart.
i) The sternum, fascia and skin are closed, with potential placement of a local anesthetic infusion catheter under the fascia, to enhance postoperative pain control.
j) Multiple muscular VSDs are a challenge to close, achieving a complete closure can be aided by the use of fluorescein dye.
Pharmacologic management of ARVD involves arrhythmia suppression and prevention of thrombus formation.
Sotalol, a beta blocker and a class III antiarrhythmic agent, is the most effective antiarrhythmic agent in ARVD. Other antiarrhythmic agents used include amiodarone and conventional beta blockers (i.e.: metoprolol). If antiarrhythmic agents are used, their efficacy should be guided by series ambulatory holter monitoring, to show a reduction in arrhythmic events.
While angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE Inhibitors) are well known for slowing progression in other cardiomyopathies, they have not been proven to be helpful in ARVD.
Individuals with decreased RV ejection fraction with dyskinetic portions of the right ventricle may benefit from long term anticoagulation with warfarin to prevent thrombus formation and subsequent pulmonary embolism.
The treatment of pulmonary atresia consists of: an IV medication called prostaglandin E1, which is used for treatment of pulmonary atresia, as it stops the ductus arteriosus from closing, allowing mixing of the pulmonary and systemic circulations, but prostaglandin E1 can be dangerous as it can cause apnea. Another example of preliminary treatment is heart catheterization to evaluate the defect or defects of the heart; this procedure is much more invasive. Ultimately, however, the individual will need to have a series of surgeries to improve the blood flow permanently. The first surgery will likely be performed shortly after birth. A shunt can be created between the aorta and the pulmonary artery to help increase blood flow to the lungs. As the child grows, so does the heart and the shunt may need to be revised in order to meet the body's requirements.
The type of surgery recommended depends on the size of the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery, if the right ventricle is small and unable to act as a pump, the surgery performed would be the Fontan procedure. In this three-stage procedure, the right atrium is disconnected from the pulmonary circulation. The systemic venous return goes directly to the lungs, by-passing the heart.Very young children with elevated pulmonary vascular resistance may not able to undergo the Fontan procedure. Cardiac catheterization may be done to determine the resistance before going ahead with the surgery.
In terms of treatment for tricuspid insufficiency prosthetic valve substitutes can be used, though artificial prostheses may cause thrombo‐embolic phenomena(bioprostheses may have a degeneration problem). Some evidence suggests that there are no significant differences between a mechanical or biological tricuspid valve in a recipient.
Generally, surgical treatment of tricuspid regurgitation is not indicated when it has arisen as a result of right ventricular dilatation. In such instances of secondary tricuspid regurgitation, the mainstay of therapy is medical. When left-sided heart failure is the cause, the individual is instructed to decrease intake of salt. Medications in this case may include diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.
Tricuspid valve stenosis itself usually doesn't require treatment. If stenosis is mild, monitoring the condition closely suffices. However, severe stenosis, or damage to other valves in the heart, may require surgical repair or replacement.
The treatment is usually by surgery (tricuspid valve replacement) or percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty. The resultant tricuspid regurgitation from percutaneous treatment is better tolerated than the insufficiency occurring during mitral valvuloplasty.
There is no cure for hypoplastic right heart syndrome. A three-stage surgical procedure is commonly used to treat the condition. The surgeries rearrange the blood flow within the heart and allow the left ventricles to do the work for the underdeveloped right side of the heart. The three surgeries are spread out over the patients first few years of life. The first procedure, called the Norwood procedure, is typically done within the first few days or weeks of life. The second procedure, called the Glenn procedure, is usually performed between four and twelve months of age. The last surgery, known as the Fontan procedure, is typically performed between the ages of 18 months and three years. These surgeries change the blood flow to the lungs so that there is always oxygenated blood. The surgeries are a temporary fix from 15–30 years in which a patient will have to have a heart transplant.[3]
In a stage 1 Norwood procedure for hypoplastic right heart, the main pulmonary artery is separated from the left and right portions of the pulmonary artery and joined with the upper portion of the aorta.[7] The proximal pulmonary artery is connected to the hypoplastic aortic arch, while the narrowed segment of the aorta is repaired. An aortopulmonary shunt is created to connect the aorta to the main pulmonary artery to provide pulmonary blood flow to the lungs.[7] The Glen procedure disconnects the superior vena cava from the heart and connects it to the right pulmonary artery so deoxygenated blood from the upper body goes directly to the lungs.[10] The Fontan procedure done usually after the patient is two years old, disconnects the inferior vena cava from the heart and connects it directly with the other pulmonary artery so that deoxygenated blood from the lower body then is sent directly to the lungs.[1]
In terms of treatment for pulmonary valve stenosis, valve replacement or surgical repair (depending upon whether the stenosis is in the valve or vessel) may be indicated. If the valve stenosis is of congenital origin, balloon valvuloplasty is another option, depending on the case.
Valves made from animal or human tissue (are used for valve replacement), in adults metal valves can be used.
Mitral valvuloplasty is a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure to correct an uncomplicated mitral stenosis by dilating the valve using a balloon.
Under local anaesthetic, a catheter with a special balloon is passed from the right femoral vein, up the inferior vena cava and into the right atrium. The interatrial septum is punctured and the catheter passed into the left atrium using a "trans-septal technique." The balloon is sub-divided into 3 segments and is dilated in 3 stages. First, the distal portion (lying in the left ventricle) is inflated and pulled against the valve cusps. Second, the proximal portion is dilated, in order to fix the centre segment at the valve orifice. Finally, the central section is inflated, this should take no longer than 30 seconds, since full inflation obstructs the valve and causes congestion, leading to circulatory arrest and flash pulmonary edema.
With careful patient pre-selection, percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) is associated with good success rates and a low rate of complications. By far the most serious adverse event is the occurrence of acute severe mitral regurgitation. Severe mitral regurgitation usually results from a tear in one of the valve leaflets or the subvalvular apparatus. It can lead to pulmonary edema and hemodynamic compromise, necessitating urgent surgical mitral valve replacement.
Other serious complications with PBMV usually relate to the technique of trans-septal puncture (TSP). The ideal site for TSP is the region of the fossa ovalis in the inter-atrial septum. Occasionally, however, the sharp needle used for TSP may inadvertently traumatize other cardiac structures, leading to cardiac tamponade or serious blood loss.
Although the immediate results of PBMV are often quite gratifying, the procedure does not provide permanent relief from mitral stenosis. Regular follow-up is mandatory, to detect restenosis. Long-term follow-up data from patients undergoing PBMV indicates that up to 70-75% individuals can be free of restenosis 10 years following the procedure. The number falls to about 40% 15 years post-PBMV.
Catheter ablation may be used to treat intractable ventricular tachycardia.
It has a 60–90% success rate. Unfortunately, due to the progressive nature of the disease, recurrence is common (60% recurrence rate), with the creation of new arrhythmogenic foci. Indications for catheter ablation include drug-refractory VT and frequent recurrence of VT after ICD placement, causing frequent discharges of the ICD.
The condition itself does not need to be treated, but rather the underlying cause requires correction. Depending on the etiology the gallop rhythm may resolve spontaneously.
With a series of operations or even a heart transplant, a newborn can be treated but not be cured. Young individuals who have undergone reconstructive surgery must refer to a cardiologist who is experienced in congenital heart diseases, "Children with HLHS are at an increased level for developing endocarditis." Kids that have been diagnosed with HRHS must limit the physical activity they participate in to their own endurance level.
The prognosis for pulmonary atresia varies for every child, if the condition is left uncorrected it may be fatal, but the prognosis has greatly improved over the years for those with pulmonary atresia. Some factors that affect how well the child does include how well the heart is beating, and the condition of the blood vessels that supply the heart. Most cases of pulmonary atresia can be helped with surgery, if the patient's right ventricle is exceptionally small, many surgeries will be needed in order to help stimulate normal circulation of blood to the heart.If uncorrected, babies with this type of congenital heart disease may only survive for the first few days of life. Many children with pulmonary atresia will go on to lead normal lives, though complications such as endocarditis, stroke and seizures are possible.
Certain antiparkinson drugs, although targeted at dopaminergic receptors, cross-react with serotoninergic 5-HT receptors as well, and have been reported to cause cardiac fibrosis.
These drugs include pergolide and cabergoline.
Pergolide was an antiparkinson medications that was in decreasing use since reported in 2003 to be associated with cardiac fibrosis. In March 2007, pergolide was withdrawn from the U.S. market due to serious valvular damage that was shown in two independent studies.
The tumor must be surgically removed. Some patients will also need their mitral valve replaced. This can be done during the same surgery.
Myxomas may come back if surgery did not remove all of the tumor cells.
Drug therapy can slow down progression and in some cases even improve the heart condition. Standard therapy may include salt restriction, ACE inhibitors, diuretics, and beta blockers. Anticoagulants may also be used for antithrombotic therapy. There is some evidence for the benefits of coenzyme Q10 in treating heart failure.
Although a myxoma is not cancer, complications are common. Untreated, a myxoma can lead to an embolism (tumor cells breaking off and traveling with the bloodstream), which can block blood flow. Myxoma fragments can move to the brain, eye, or limbs.
If the tumor grows inside the heart, it can block blood flow through the mitral valve and cause symptoms of mitral stenosis or mitral regurgitation. This may require emergency surgery to prevent sudden death.
Artificial pacemakers may be used in patients with intraventricular conduction delay, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in those at risk of arrhythmia. These forms of treatment have been shown to prevent sudden cardiac death, improve symptoms, and reduce hospitalization in patients with systolic heart failure.
The prognosis of tricuspid insufficiency is less favorable for males than females. Furthermore, increased tricuspid insufficiency (regurgitation) severity is an indication of a poorer prognosis according to Nath, et al. It is also important to note that since tricuspid insufficiency most often arises from left heart failure or pulmonary hypertension, the person's prognosis is usually dictated by the prognosis of the latter conditions and not by the tricuspid insufficiency "per se".
The following table includes the main types of valvular stenosis and regurgitation. Major types of valvular heart disease not included in the table include mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease and endocarditis.