[Congenitally corrected transposition of the great vessels in adulthood. The value of noninvasive study methods]

A 57-year-old man with a cough and increasing exertional dyspnoea for the past 6 weeks was found on examination to have a loud systolic murmur and cardiomegaly with pulmonary congestion. Echocardiography revealed congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (cTGA: atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial discordance): a morphologically right ventricle with a tricuspid valve on the left, a morphologically left ventricle with bicuspid a-v valve on the right, the aorta arising ventrally from the left-sided (morphologically right) ventricle. The tricuspid valve showed an Ebstein-like anomaly with obvious regurgitation. Transoesophageal and contrast echocardiography defined valvar anatomy, attachment of the great arteries and cardiac chambers to the venous and arterial circulations, as well as absence of a left to right shunt. Angiography revealed a coronary anatomy typical for cTGA. The exertional dyspnoea responded to diuretics and low doses of ACE inhibitor. Follow-up monitoring of the valvar regurgitation and appropriate endocarditis prophylaxis were recommended. As the haemodynamics in cTGA is normal, in the absence of additional anomalies, it is a congenital cardiac defect which can, though rarely, present first in adulthood. Life expectancy depends on the nature of any additional defects and the degree of commonly associated tricuspid valve regurgitation. As this case demonstrates, echocardiography can largely define the anomalies.