Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026
Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in Congenital Heart Disease
Published on: July 18, 2014
The neonatal brain in critical congenital heart disease: Insights and future directions
Shabnam Peyvandi1, Beatrice Latal2, Steven P Miller3
1Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of California San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital, USA.
Insights
Survivors of critical congenital heart disease (CHD) often experience neurodevelopmental deficits affecting motor, cognitive, and sensory skills. Brain imaging reveals developmental delays and injuries in neonates with CHD, impacting long-term outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Critical congenital heart disease (CHD) significantly impacts neurodevelopmental outcomes in survivors across multiple domains.
- These neurodevelopmental deficits persist from infancy through adolescence and early adulthood.
- The etiology is multifactorial, involving patient-specific risks, cardiac factors, and observable brain changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review brain changes observed via MRI in neonates with critical CHD.
- To identify risk factors associated with these brain abnormalities.
- To explore the link between brain changes and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on neuroimaging in neonates with critical CHD.
- Analysis of studies correlating cardiac physiology, brain development, and neurodevelopmental assessments.
- Focus on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings.
Main Results:
- Neonates with critical CHD exhibit delayed brain development and acquired brain injuries, detectable before surgical intervention.
- Brain abnormalities are evident on MRI, even in the neonatal period.
- A complex interplay between cardiovascular physiology and brain health is increasingly recognized.
Conclusions:
- Neurodevelopmental impairments in critical CHD survivors are linked to pre-existing and acquired brain abnormalities.
- Understanding the heart-brain interplay is crucial for improving neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Early identification of brain changes may inform targeted interventions.
Abstract:
Neurodevelopmental outcomes are impaired in survivors of critical congenital heart disease (CHD) in several developmental domains including motor, cognitive and sensory outcomes. These deficits can extend into the adolescent and early adulthood years. The cause of these neurodevelopmental impairments is multi-factorial and includes patient specific risk factors, cardiac anatomy and physiology as well as brain changes seen on MRI. Advances in imaging techniques have identified delayed brain development in the neonate with critical CHD as well as acquired brain injury. These abnormalities are seen even before corrective neonatal cardiac surgery. This review focuses on describing brain changes seen on MRI in neonates with CHD, risk factors for these changes and the association with neurodevelopmental outcome. There is an emerging focus on the impact of cardiovascular physiology on brain health and the complex heart-brain interplay that influences ultimate neurodevelopmental outcome in these patients.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Rheumatic Heart Disease I: Introduction
01:17Ischemic Heart Disease: Overview
Atherosclerosis, the primary malefactor, orchestrates this dangerous condition. It manifests as the accumulation of fatty deposits, akin to insidious plaques, within arterial walls. As time elapses, these plaques metamorphose, hardening and...
01:21Rheumatic Heart Disease III: Medical Management
01:20Rheumatic Heart Disease IV: Nursing Management
01:16Critical Region, Critical Values and Significance Level
In hypothesis testing, a sample statistic is converted to a test statistic using z, t, or chi-square distribution. A critical region is an area under the curve in probability distributions demarcated by the critical value. When the test statistic falls in this region, it suggests that the null hypothesis must be rejected. As this region contains all those values of the...
01:31Critical Values