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Updated: Dec 20, 2025
Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Current practice in atrial septal defect occlusion in children and adults
Wail Alkashkari1,2,3, Saad Albugami2, Ziyad M Hijazi4,5
1Department of Cardiology, King Faisal Cardiac Center, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a common congenital heart disease. Transcatheter closure is now the preferred treatment for secundum ASD, offering improved outcomes with recent advances in diagnosis and therapy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Pediatric Cardiology
Background:
- Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a frequent congenital heart disease (CHD) in all age groups.
- It involves abnormal openings between heart atria, causing blood shunting.
- Late diagnosis in adults can lead to pulmonary artery hypertension and heart dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of atrial septal defects (ASDs).
- To detail the anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical features, and treatment indications for ASD.
- To focus on advancements in the diagnosis and transcatheter treatment of secundum ASDs.
Main Methods:
- Review of ASD aspects including anatomy, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation.
- Detailed examination of transcatheter closure therapy, devices, and outcomes.
- Focus on recent diagnostic and therapeutic strategy updates for secundum ASDs.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in ASD treatment strategies over recent decades.
- Transcatheter closure is the primary treatment for most secundum ASD cases.
- Review highlights current best practices and recent advancements in ASD management.
Conclusions:
- Transcatheter closure has become the gold standard for secundum ASD treatment.
- Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for favorable patient outcomes.
- This review emphasizes the latest developments in secundum ASD diagnosis and treatment.
Introduction:
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of the most common congenital heart diseases (CHD) in children and adults. This group of malformations includes several types of atrial communications allowing shunting of blood between the systemic and the pulmonary circulations. Early diagnosis and treatment carries favorable outcomes. Patients diagnosed during adulthood often present with complications related to longstanding volume overload such as pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), atrial dysrhythmias, and right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular dysfunction.
Area Covered:
This article intended to review all aspects of ASD; anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, natural history, and indication for treatment. Also, we covered the transcatheter therapy in detail, including the procedural aspect, available devices, and outcomes.
Expert Opinion:
There has been a remarkable improvement in the treatment strategy of ASD over the last few decades. Transcatheter closure of ASD is currently accepted as the treatment of choice in most patients with appropriately selected secundum ASDs. This review will focus on the most recent advances in diagnosis and treatment strategy of secundum ASD.
