Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects up to 1% of live births the etiology remains relatively poorly understood. Thus, cardiac research is needed to understand the underlying pathomechanisms of the disease. About 51 000 CHD patients are registered in the German National Register for Congenital Heart Defects (NRCHD). Patients and relatives were interviewed online about their willingness to support genetic heart research in order to donate a biological sample.
Methods: Study participants were recruited via the database of the NRCHD. Seven thousand nine hundred eighty-nine patients were invited to participate in the study. Participants have been asked to rate three questions on a ten-staged Likert scale about their willingness to provide a saliva/blood sample and their motivation to ask family members to support genetic heart research.
Results: Overall, 2035 participants (patients/relatives) responded the online survey (25.5%). Two-thirds of the participants are willing to donate a saliva sample. Whereas the motivation to provide a blood sample is slightly lower (patients: 63.8%, relatives: 60.6%). Female relatives are more fain to provide a saliva sample as well as a blood sample compared to men (saliva sample: P < .001, blood sample: P < .01). The motivation to ask an additional family member for a biological sample was significantly higher in relatives (59.2%) compared to patients (48.4%).
Conclusions: The motivation to provide biological samples is high reflecting the need for genetic research to unravel the pathomechanism of CHD. A future aim should be to offer an individual risk assessment for each patient based on the underlying genetics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/chd.12630 | DOI Listing |
Radiol Clin North Am
March 2025
Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, M-391 Box 0628, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Pulmonary hypertension is a rare but important clinical problem that presents a sometimes challenging diagnostic dilemma. The diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension relies on a combination of clinical testing and radiologic imaging, with chest computed tomography (CT) often serving as the primary imaging modality for comprehensive evaluation of the chest. Chest CT can be used to evaluate for causes of pulmonary hypertension including chronic lung disease, pulmonary artery obstruction, and congenital heart disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
January 2025
Division of Cardiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Center for Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Objectives: Mixed reality (MixR) is an innovative visualization tool that presents virtual elements in a real-world environment, enabling real-time interaction between the user and the combined digital/physical reality. We aimed to explore the feasibility of MixR in enhancing preoperative planning and intraoperative guidance for the correction of various complex congenital heart defects (CHDs).
Methods: Patients underwent cardiac computed tomography or cardiac magnetic resonance and segmentation of digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) images was performed.
Future Cardiol
January 2025
Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Reaching competency in congenital heart surgery (CHS) requires lengthy and rigorous training. Due to patient safety, time limitations, and procedural complexity, the intraoperative setting is not ideal for technical practice. Surgical simulation using synthetic, biological, or virtual models is an increasingly valuable educational tool for technical training and assessment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
January 2025
Department of Surgery IV, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania.
: Totally endoscopic techniques have become increasingly popular in cardiac surgery, with minimally invasive mitral valve repair emerging as an effective alternative to median sternotomy. This approach could be particularly advantageous for patients with Noonan syndrome, who often present with structural thoracic anomalies and other comorbidities like bleeding disorders. Endoscopic mitral valve surgery is rapidly establishing itself as the new standard of care for mitral valve operations, demonstrating both safety and efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
January 2025
Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, IRCCS, 00167 Rome, Italy.
Recently, the application of novel tools to predict and personalize outcomes for congenital heart disease (CHD) patients has significantly transformed their treatment [...
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