Self- and proxy-reported impaired social interaction in young adults with simple congenital heart defects.

Background: Simple Congenital Heart Defects such as septal defects constitute a large proportion of Congenital Heart Defects. New research has demonstrated more co-morbidities than previously thought. In particular, co-morbidities involving neurocognitive, psychiatric, and social difficulties have been described.

Altered Cerebral Microstructure in Adults With Atrial Septal Defect and Ventricular Septal Defect Repaired in Childhood.

Background Delayed brain development, brain injury, and neurodevelopmental disabilities are commonly observed in infants operated for complex congenital heart defect. Our previous findings of poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes in individuals operated for simple congenital heart defects calls for further etiological clarification. Hence, we examined the microstructural tissue composition in cerebral cortex and subcortical structures in comparison to healthy controls and whether differences were associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Self- and informant-reported executive function in young adults operated for atrial or ventricular septal defects in childhood.

Background: Adults with simple congenital heart defects (CHD) have increased risk of neurodevelopmental challenges including executive dysfunction. It is unknown if the executive dysfunction is universal or if it is driven by dysfunction in specific clinical subscales and how it might affect psychosocial aspects of everyday life.

Methods: The self-reported and informant-reported executive function of adults with an average age of 26 ± 5 (range 18-41) who underwent childhood surgery for atrial septal defects (n = 34) or ventricular septal defects (n = 32) and matched controls (n = 40) were evaluated using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions - Adult version (BRIEF-A).

Hyperactivity and Inattention in Young Patients Born With an Atrial Septal or Ventricular Septal Defect.

Patients with congenital heart defects have a well-established risk of neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Inattention and hyperactivity are three to four times more frequent in children with complex congenital heart defects. We have previously shown a higher burden of overall attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adults with simple congenital heart defects as well.

Long-term neurodevelopmental effects of intraoperative blood pressure during surgical closure of a septal defect in infancy or early childhood.

Background: Many children born with congenital heart defects are faced with cognitive deficits and psychological challenges later in life. The mechanisms behind are suggested to be multifactorial and are explained as an interplay between innate and modifiable risk factors. The aim was to assess whether there is a relationship between mean arterial pressure during surgery of a septal defect in infancy or early childhood and intelligence quotient scores in adulthood.

Abnormal Left-Hemispheric Sulcal Patterns in Adults With Simple Congenital Heart Defects Repaired in Childhood.

Background Children operated on for a simple congenital heart defect (CHD) are at risk of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Abnormal cortical development and folding have been observed in fetuses with CHD. We examined whether sulcal folding patterns in adults operated on for simple CHD in childhood differ from those of healthy controls, and whether such differences are associated with neuropsychological outcomes.

Neuropsychological Status and Structural Brain Imaging in Adults With Simple Congenital Heart Defects Closed in Childhood.

Background Neurodevelopmental impairments are common in survivors of complex congenital heart defects (CHD). We report neuropsychological and brain imaging assessments in adults operated for isolated septal defects. Methods and Results Patients (mean age 25.

Disappearance of the shunt and lower cardiac index during exercise in small, unrepaired ventricular septal defects.

Objectives: Clinical studies have revealed decreased exercise capacity in adults with small, unrepaired ventricular septal defects. Increasing shunt ratio and growing incompetence of the aortic and pulmonary valve with retrograde flow during exercise have been proposed as reasons for the previously found reduced exercise parameters. With MRI, haemodynamic shunt properties were measured during exercise in ventricular septal defects.

Biventricular morphology in adults born with a ventricular septal defect.

Ventricular septal defects - large, surgically closed or small, untreated - have demonstrated lower peak exercise capacity compared with healthy controls. The mechanisms behind these findings are not yet fully understood. Therefore, we evaluated biventricular morphology in adults with a ventricular septal defect using MRI.

Dynamic bicycle exercise to assess cardiac output at multiple exercise levels during magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: The aim was to establish a method for performing dynamic exercise during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a slowly increasing workload protocol.

Methods: An ergometer bicycle with a step-wise, exercise protocol was used. Real-time phase-contrast MRI images of the aorta were obtained at each exercise step.

Impaired cardiac output during exercise in adults operated for ventricular septal defect in childhood: a hitherto unrecognised pathophysiological response.

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that surgical ventricular septal defect closure in childhood is associated with reduced functional capacity and disruption of the right ventricular force-frequency relationship during exercise. To further describe long-term cardiac function, we performed a non-invasive assessment of cardiac index during exercise in adults having undergone surgery for ventricular septal defect in early childhood.

Methods: A total of 20 patients (surgical age 2.

Does functional capacity depend on the size of the shunt? A prospective, cohort study of adults with small, unrepaired ventricular septal defects.

Objectives: Small ventricular septal defects (VSDs) are considered to have great prognoses and most remain unrepaired. However, we have recently demonstrated lower functional capacity in patients with small VSDs compared with healthy peers. Using magnetic resonance imaging scans, we determined whether the functional capacity was correlated to the size of the shunt.