Heart disease associated with deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18.

Deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18 provides a highly variable phenotype. Mental retardation, short stature, and abnormal facies are invariably present. About 9 percent of patients with this syndrome have cardiac pathology. An additional case with congenital heart disease has been presented along with a review of the literature concerning the association of congenital heart disease and the 18p- syndrome.