Recurrence of cerebrovascular events in young adults with a secundum atrial septal defect

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Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
07:41

Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure

Published on: February 8, 2022

Sjoukje I Lok1, Bjorn Winkens, Konstantinos Dimopoulos

  • 1University of Maastricht, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.

International Journal of Cardiology
|January 28, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Patients with atrial septal defect type 2 (ASD2) have a high risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events. Closing the defect appears to reduce this risk, but more research is needed.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology
  • Medical Research

Background:

  • The recurrence rate of cerebrovascular ischemic events in patients with atrial septal defect type 2 (ASD2) is unknown.
  • Current treatment guidelines for ASD2 patients with prior cerebrovascular events are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the incidence rates of recurrent cerebrovascular events in patients diagnosed with ASD2.

Main Methods:

  • A multicenter, retrospective study was conducted across the Netherlands, UK, and US.
  • Patient data were gathered from medical files, electronic databases, and radiographic charts.
  • Included were adult patients diagnosed with ASD2 and a history of cerebrovascular events.

Main Results:

  • 19.6% of 56 recruited patients experienced recurrent events (9 TIA, 2 CVA) over a median follow-up of 5.3 years.
  • The median age at the first cerebrovascular event was 37.5 years.
  • Non-closure of the ASD2 was the sole significant predictor of recurrent events (p=0.01).

Conclusions:

  • Patients with ASD2 and a history of cerebrovascular ischemic events face a substantial risk of recurrence.
  • Closure of ASD2 may significantly lower the risk of recurrent events.
  • Further prospective randomized trials are necessary to validate these findings.
Abstract

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