Related Experiment Videos
[ECG changes following balloon dilatation of pulmonary valve stenoses]
O Galal1, J Hilgenberg, F Hentrich
1King Faisal Specialized Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi-Arabien.
Insights
Electrocardiography (ECG) effectively monitors children post-pulmonary stenosis balloon valvuloplasty. ECG changes correlate with reduced pressure gradients, supporting its role in long-term follow-up alongside Doppler-echocardiography.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Interventional Cardiology
Context:
- Pulmonary stenosis is a common congenital heart defect.
- Balloon valvuloplasty is a primary treatment for pulmonary stenosis in children.
- Long-term monitoring is crucial to assess treatment efficacy and detect residual issues.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the utility of electrocardiography (ECG) in the long-term follow-up of pediatric patients after pulmonary stenosis balloon valvuloplasty.
- To correlate ECG findings with hemodynamic changes (pressure gradients) post-procedure.
Summary:
- Ten children underwent pulmonary stenosis balloon valvuloplasty, showing a significant reduction in the pressure gradient across the pulmonary valve.
- Electrocardiography revealed significant changes within 3-6 months, including a leftward shift of the frontal plane mean QRS vector and a decrease in the sum of RV1 and SV6 amplitudes.
- These ECG alterations correlated with the decreased pressure gradient, suggesting ECG's value in monitoring.
Impact:
- Electrocardiography demonstrates a significant role in the long-term follow-up of children after pulmonary stenosis balloon valvuloplasty.
- ECG provides valuable, non-invasive data that complements Doppler-echocardiography in assessing treatment outcomes.
- Findings support the integration of routine ECG monitoring into post-valvuloplasty care protocols for pediatric patients.
Abstract:
To evaluate the role of electrocardiography in the long-term follow up of children after balloon valvuloplasty of pulmonary stenosis the ECG findings of ten children (4 girls and 6 boys) with a mean age of 7.8 +/- 3.3 years who underwent valvuloplasty of pulmonary stenosis were studied. There was a significant decrease of the gradient across the valve from 61.8 +/- 15.05 mmHg to 24.8 +/- 9.52 mm Hg (p less than 0.001). In all children ECGs were available before dilatation. The frontal plane mean QRS vector moved significantly (p less than 0.02) towards the left from 116.3 +/- 59.86 (67-[-120]) to 86.7 +/- 56.22 (30-[-142]) between three to six months. Further changes between 12 and 24 months after Balloon valvuloplasty of pulmonary stenosis were not significant (71.11 +/- 61.74 (30-[-133])). The sum of the amplitude of RV1 and SV6 (mV) decreased significantly (p less than 0.02) within three to six months from 2.13 +/- 0.64 (1.1-3.1) to 1.53 +/- 0.50 (1-2.3). Later changes within the following 12 to 24 months were not significant (1.2 +/- 0.31 (0.8-1.5)). Since these ECG changes parallel the decrease of the gradient across the pulmonary valve, this would suggest, that besides Doppler-echocardiography ECG seems to have a useful role in the long term follow up of children after valvuloplasty of pulmonary stenosis.