[Acute left heart failure following repair of atrial septal defects. Its treatment by reopening].

Among 716 patients operated on for an ASD, 15 of them, following closure of the defect, developed acute left heart failure requiring partial re-opening. The most prominent anatomical finding in these cases was hypoplasia of the left ventricle. Also remarkable in some patients was severe pulmonary hypertension, which may have led to right ventricular hypertrophy. Therefore, a marked difference of the stroke work of the left and right ventricle, respectively, appeared to be the essential underlying hemodynamic mechanism. The prognosis has been found to depend mainly on prompt surgical intervention; so in all poor-risk cases continued monitoring of left atrial pressure is indicated for early detection of impending left heart failure.--The high incidence of left heart failure as cause of death after repair of an ASD indicates the importance of this complication.