The results of fetal echocardiography in a tertiary center and comparison of low- and high-risk pregnancies for fetal congenital heart defects.

Objective: Fetal echocardiography (FE) is considered for fetal, maternal or hereditary reasons in pregnants with suspect of intrauterine heart disease (IUHD). However, in few studies it was reported that most of the fetuses with IUHD are in the low-risk group (suspicion of IUHD during 2nd trimester ultrasound, lack of good vision of the heart, self-referral). Our aim is to examine retrospectively the reasons for referral of pregnants, the results of FE, distribution of pregnants having fetuses with IUHD according to low- and high- risk factors and to evaluate reliability of FE.

Successful radiofrequency catheter ablation therapy of an adolescent with atrial ectopic tachycardia.

Atrial ectopic tachycardia is an incessant supraventricular tachycardia and is frequently refractory to medical treatment. Because it can cause tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy, early diagnosis and treatment is important. We present a 16-year-old boy who was diagnosed as atrial ectopic tachycardia.

Cardioverter defibrillator implantation in a child with isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium and ventricular fibrillation.

Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium is a rare unclassified cardiomyopathy and is thought to be due to arrest of myocardial morphogenesis. In fetal life, it is characterized by an excessively prominent trabecular meshwork and deep intratrabecular recesses, and occurs in the left ventricle in the absence of structural heart disease. Echocardiography provides evidence for the diagnosis.

The results of electrophysiological study and radio-frequency catheter ablation in pediatric patients with tachyarrhythmia.

A total of 135 consecutive pediatric patients (pts) with tachyarrhythmia ranging from two to 21 years of age (median age 11 years) underwent electrophysiological study (EPS) between January 1994 and July 2001. Tachycardia could not be induced in 38 of 135 pts (28%) and studies in these patients were accepted as the normal EPS. Supraventricular tachyarrhythmia mechanisms were atrioventricular (AV) accessory pathways in 47 patients (manifest accessory pathways in 23 patients, concealed accessory pathways in 17 patients, permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia in 7 patients), re-entry without accessory pathway in 26 patients (AV nodal reentry tachycardia in 20 patients, atrial flutter in 5 patients, sinus node re-entry tachycardia in 1 patient) and atrial ectopic tachycardia in eight patients.