Atrial septal defect: waiting for symptoms remains an unsolved medical anachronism

Long-term prognosis of elderly patients undergoing atrial septal defect closure: Are we acting too late?

BACKGROUND

Atrial septal defects (ASD) often go unrecognized until very late in life. The impact of ASD closure on life expectancy in elderly patients remains unclear. This study compares the survival of patients≥65-years who underwent ASD closure with their average life expectancy (ALE).

METHODS

Single-centre retrospective study including all patients ≥65-years who underwent ostium secundum (OS) ASD closure (surgical/percutaneous) between 1998-2020. Baseline characteristics and the predicted peri-procedural ALE (as determined per pre-defined national ALE tables) for every given patient were assessed.

RESULTS

706 patients underwent OS ASD closure, 37 (5%) had ≥65 years-mean age 69±5 years, 62% presented with heart failure. Mean ASD size=21±9mm, 22% patients had severe tricuspid regurgitation, mean systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP)=50±11mmHg. Five patients were treated surgically. At a mean follow-up of 9±5 years, mortality rate was 46%, occurring 8.8±5.3 years after the procedure. 25 (68%) outlived their predicted ALE. Overall, the mean age of death did not differ from the predicted ALE (79±6 vs. 84±1 years, p=0.304), however there was a 10-year absolute difference between patients who died prematurely vs. those who surpassed ALE (77±4 vs. 87±3 years, p<0.001). Patients who failed to reach ALE had higher SPAP (58±10 vs. 46±8mmHg, p=0.001) and a higher incidence of severe tricuspid regurgitation (42 vs. 12%, p=0.040).

CONCLUSION

Survival after late ASD closure was comparable to the expected ALE, though one-third of the patients died prematurely. Higher SPAP and severe tricuspid regurgitation were associated with premature death. ASD closure in elderly requires a thorough evaluation to ensure maximum benefit.

Augmented detection of septal defects using advanced optical coherence tomography network-processed phonocardiogram

Background

Cardiac auscultation is a traditional method that is most frequently used for identifying congenital heart disease (CHD). Failure to diagnose CHD may occur in patients with faint murmurs or obesity. We aimed to develop an intelligent diagnostic method of detecting heart murmurs in patients with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) and atrial septal defects (ASDs).

Materials and methods

Digital recordings of heart sounds and phonocardiograms of 184 participants were obtained. All participants underwent echocardiography by pediatric cardiologists to determine the type of CHD. The phonocardiogram data were classified as normal, ASD, or VSD. Then, the phonocardiogram signal was used to extract features to construct diagnostic models for disease classification using an advanced optical coherence tomography network (AOCT-NET). Cardiologists were asked to distinguish normal heart sounds from ASD/VSD murmurs after listening to the electronic sound recordings. Comparisons of the cardiologists' assessment and AOCT-NET performance were performed.

Results

Echocardiography results revealed 88 healthy participants, 50 with ASDs, and 46 with VSDs. The AOCT-NET had no advantage in detecting VSD compared with cardiologist assessment. However, AOCT-NET performance was better than that of cardiologists in detecting ASD (sensitivity, 76.4 vs. 27.8%, respectively; specificity, 90 vs. 98.5%, respectively).

Conclusion

The proposed method has the potential to improve the ASD detection rate and could be an important screening tool for patients without symptoms.

A large congenital atrial septal defect in an adult with delayed therapy

Patients with a large congenital atrial septal defect (ASD) traditionally have the ASD repaired at the preschool age. Unfortunately, insufficient education of patients regarding medical science and clinical recommendations can lead to delayed therapy, resulting in complications during adulthood. We report a rare case of a large congenital ASD in a 20-year-old man. Echocardiography showed a 67-mm ostium secundum defect and moderate mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. The patient underwent transthoracic ASD repair along with mitral and tricuspid valvuloplasty. This report emphasizes the importance of educating patients about congenital malformations and potential interventions in developing countries, particularly in rural communities.

Atrial septal defect closure in adulthood is associated with normal survival in the mid to longer term

Objective

The prognostic benefit of atrial septal defect (ASD) closure in adulthood, particularly in advanced age, remains uncertain. The aim of our study was to examine the impact of ASD closure in a contemporary adult cohort on mid to longer term survival as compared with expected survival in the general population.

Methods

We study herewith all consecutive patients (≥16 years of age) who underwent ASD closure, catheter or surgical, at our tertiary centre between 2001 and 2012. Furthermore, we compare survival of our ASD closure cohort with expected survival in age and gender-matched general population and standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated.

Results

A total of 608 patients (mean age 45.4±16.7 years) underwent ASD closure (catheter 433(71.2%), surgical 175(28.8%)). There was no 30-day mortality and periprocedural complications were low (n=40, 6.6%). During a median follow-up of 6.7 (IQR 4.2–9.3) years 16 (2.6%) patients died; survival was similar to the general population (p=0.80) including patients >40 or >60 years of age at ASD closure (p=0.58 and p=0.64, respectively). There was no survival difference between gender (male: SMR 0.93; 95% CI 0.52 to 1.64, p=0.76; female: SMR 0.99; 95% CI 0.58 to 1.66, p=0.95) or mode of closure compared with general population (catheter: SMR 1.03; 95% CI 0.68 to 1.55, p=0.89; surgical: SMR 0.65; 95% CI 0.22 to 1.88, p=0.38).

Conclusion

Perioperative mortality and morbidity in a large contemporary adult cohort undergoing ASD closure, catheter or surgical, is extremely low. Mid to longer term survival is excellent irrespective of age, gender and mode of closure, and similar to matched general population.

Transcatheter versus surgical closure of atrial septum defect: a debate from a developing country

Introduction: This study compares the effectiveness and cost of trans-catheter verses surgical closure of secundum atrial septum defect (ASD). ASD accounts for 10% of congenital cardiac defects. Trans-catheter closure of secundum ASD is increasingly used as the primary intervention. Surgical repair is advised in a proportion of secundum type defects which are unsuitable for device closure.

Methods: We reviewed the clinical course of 176 patients who underwent closure of isolated secundum ASD. The patients were assigned to either the device or surgical group depending upon the treatment they received. Successful closure was assessed immediately after the procedure. The following outcomes were studied: mortality, morbidity, hospital stay, and costs.

Results: Ninety five patients were in the surgical group and 81 patients were in the group undergoing device closure. The median age was 14.0 years (range 1.1-61.0) for surgical group and 24.0 years (range 0.5-68.0) for the device group. The mortality in both groups was 0. The procedure success rate was 100% for the surgical group and 96.3% for the device group. The complication rate was 13.7% for surgical group and 7.4% for the device group. The mean length of hospital stay was 5.0 ± 2.7 days for surgical group and 3.0 ± 0.4 days for device group. The procedure cost for surgery was found to be 12.3% lower than that of trans-catheter closure.

Conclusion: Successful closure is achieved by both methods. Trans-catheter closure results in lower rate of complication and hospital stay but the cost of the procedure tends to be higher than surgery.

Atrial Septal Defect in a Very Old Woman

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is one of the most frequently congenital heart diseases in adults and it is often asymptomatic until adulthood. We report a case of a 90-year-old woman admitted to hospital with dyspnea and orthopnea insidiously progressing over the preceding 5 years and becoming severe with dyspnea on minimal activities, orthopnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, in the last 2 weeks. The transthoracic echocardiogram revealed an atrial septal defect ostium secundum type, with left-to-right shunt, moderate to severe tricuspid insufficiency, severe pulmonary hypertension (72 mmHg) and preserved biventricular function. With diuretic therapy optimization the patient showed symptomatic improvement. This present case represents and unusual and very late presentation of an atrial septal defect ostium secundum type, which is usually diagnosed at the mild adult age. Our patient lived symptom-free for over 80 years.