Patent ductus arteriosus in adult life

Patent ductus arteriosus in patients more than 50 years old

At the Mayo Clinic, from 1945 through 1983, a definitive diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus was first made in 38 patients when they were more than 50 years old. Of the 29 patients who had cardiac catheterization, 14 had a small left-to-right shunt, 7 had a moderate shunt, and 8 had a large shunt. Five patients, including 2 with right-to-left shunts through the ductus, had pulmonary systolic pressures greater than 75 mm Hg. Thirty procedures were done in 29 patients: ductal ligation in 7, division and suture in 13, transaortic patch closure in 3, and closure via median sternotomy with extracorporeal circulation in 7. There was one intraoperative death (operative mortality, 3.3%). Although technically more challenging, surgical repair is associated with low mortality and excellent follow-up survival. The patients who benefit most from surgical correction are those with Qp/Qs greater than 1.5 and pulmonary artery systolic pressure less than 75 mm Hg.

Persistence of ductus arteriosus with left to right shunt in the older patient

Eight hundred and four patients with persistence of the ductus arteriosus were seen in Edinburgh between 1940 and 1979. Thirty-seven of them reached the age of 50 years, and in 32 the shunt was exclusively from left to right. Fifteen of the 32 were subsequently treated surgically. None of the 32 was lost to follow-up. Duration of clinical observation averaged 17 years and extended to over 30 years in eight patients. Their features have been correlated with those from reports of 48 comparable patients in an attempt to clarify the management of the persistent ductus in the older patient. Impairment of left ventricular function is shown as the major risk, even when the ductus is small. Bacterial endarteritis is infrequent. Surgical treatment carries greater risk than in childhood and early adult life but usually reduces heart size and restores exercise tolerance. Left ventricular dysfunction, however, occasionally vitiates the benefits; symptoms are then incompletely relieved and death from heart failure may occur months or years after operation. Experience in older patients thus emphasises the value of elective operation in childhood, however well the child, however trivial the shunt. It is concluded that in older patients, the presence or the development of symptoms or cardiac enlargement are almost always indications for surgical treatment. As age increases, especially by the eighth decade, medical treatment may be preferable. Continued follow-up of symptomless patients without cardiomegaly is important because increase in heart size usually precedes further deterioration which can then be prevented by timely surgical treatment.

Patent ductus arteriosus in old age

An unusual case of patient ductus arteriosus (PDA) in a 78-year-old man is presented. The patient was known to have PDA since the age of 30, but it had remained well compensated until shortly before death. He had undergone some difficult operations successfully, and had no specific pulmonary complaints. Death at age 78 was caused by arteriosclerotic heart disease following myocardial infarction. Autopsy revealed a smooth patent ductus arteriosus with no perforation. The survival of a PDA patient to such advanced age is a comparatively rare occurrence.

Patent ductus arteriosus in an elderly man

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