Echocardiography as a Predicting Method in Diagnosis, Evaluation and Assessment of Children with Subvalvar Aortic...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Left ventricular outflow obstruction is a common congenital heart defect (CHD), affecting 3-6% of patients.
• Obstructions can occur above, at, or below the aortic valve, with subaortic obstructions being less common (23%).
• These defects are more prevalent in males with a 4:1 male-to-female ratio.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of transthoracic echocardiography for discrete subaortic membrane.
• To identify optimal timing for surgical intervention in pediatric patients.
• To assess the involvement of the aortic valve in subaortic shelf conditions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 18 pediatric patients diagnosed with discrete subaortic membrane.
• Inclusion criteria: age 11 months to 12 years, diagnosed between 1999 and 2010.
• Data reviewed included medical records and echocardiograms.

Main Results:

• Four neonatal patients presented with critical coarctation of the aorta and heart failure symptoms.
• Two of these patients underwent surgery in Belgrade, Serbia, and two in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Bicuspid aortic valve was observed in all patients, but discrete subaortic membrane was not identified.

Conclusions:

• Transthoracic echocardiography plays a role in diagnosing subaortic obstructions.
• The study highlights the frequent association of bicuspid aortic valves with left ventricular outflow tract anomalies.
• Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between bicuspid aortic valves and discrete subaortic membrane.