Down syndrome patients with normal hearts: are they really normal?

Even though congenital heart disease is a common finding in down syndrome (DS) patients, some of them have anatomically normal hearts. However, the term "normal" might not be suitable, as these patients usually suffer from functional cardiac dysfunction. Several research highlighted that despite the absence of anatomical heart defects, subtle cardiac function derangements are present in DS patients.

Mid-Term Outcome of Left Ventricle Reverse Remodeling After Atrial Septal Defect Closure: A Comparison Between Surgical and Device Groups.

Right ventricular (RV) volume overload occurs in patients with significant atrial septal defect (ASD II) shunts, which can impair left ventricle (LV) filling, thus decreasing LV indices. However, after ASD II closure, the left ventricle regains near normal dimensions. The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term outcomes of LV reverse remodeling between device and surgical closure.

The perfusion index histograms predict patent ductus arteriosus requiring treatment in preterm infants.

The impact of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) on vital sign trends represented as histograms, and perfusion index in particular, is unknown. This study aimed to split continuously obtained PI and other vital signs before, during, and after medical treatment of PDA, into histogram bins, and determine the utility of PI and other vital sign histograms in the early prediction of hemodynamically significant PDA (hsPDA). In 34 infants at a mean gestational age of 26 ± 2.