Neuropsychological Impairment in Children With Class 1 Congenital Heart Disease

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Neuropsychology
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Congenital heart disease (CHD) is linked to increased risks of neuropsychological impairments.
• Nonlinguistic cognitive abilities in children with CHD remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate nonlinguistic neuropsychological abilities in school-age children with Class 1 CHD.
• To compare cognitive functions between children with CHD and matched controls.

Main Methods:

• Neuropsychological evaluations using the NEPSY II were performed on 17 children with Class 1 CHD and 34 matched controls.
• Participants had normal intelligence scores and no genetic abnormalities.
• Children with CHD had undergone at least one cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Main Results:

• Children with CHD demonstrated significantly lower scores in memory and learning domains compared to controls.
• Subtle attention/executive dysfunctions were observed in the CHD group.
• Deficits in sensorimotor skills were also identified in children with CHD.

Conclusions:

• Children with Class 1 CHD exhibit specific nonlinguistic neuropsychological deficits, including impaired memory, learning, attention, and sensorimotor skills.
• These findings highlight the need for targeted neuropsychological assessments and interventions for children with CHD.
• Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass may be associated with these observed cognitive impairments.