BACKGROUND: From 1958 to 1969, 1,280 patients (mostly children) with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) were admitted to the First Natural History Study of Congenital Heart Defects (NHS-1) after cardiac catheterization. Most with small defects and Eisenmenger's syndrome were managed medically; most with large VSDs were managed surgically. Of those with moderate-size defects, some were managed medically, and some were managed surgically. Most had a second catheterization at the conclusion of NHS-1. More than 15 years have elapsed since NHS-1, and most of the cohort are adults. This report (Second Natural History Study) addresses the long-term results of medical and surgical management. METHODS AND RESULTS: Of an original cohort of 1,280 patients, 1,099 were alive at completion of NHS-1. New data were obtained on 976 (76.3%) of the original cohort. Probability of 25-year survival was 87%, and admission severity was the best predictor of survival. Of the 860 patients managed medically during NHS-1, 245 subsequently required surgical closure of the VSD. Only 5.5% of patients who had surgical closure required a second operation. On follow-up, there was a higher-than-normal prevalence of serious arrhythmias. Bacterial endocarditis occurred rarely. Of patients with small VSDs, 94.1% were in New York Heart Association functional class I. With the exception of those with Eisenmenger's syndrome, most patients had a final clinical status that was excellent or good. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients fared well. However, there was a higher-than-normal prevalence of serious arrhythmia and sudden death, including those with small VSDs.
BACKGROUND: From 1958 to 1969, 1,280 patients (mostly children) with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) were admitted to the First Natural History Study of Congenital Heart Defects (NHS-1) after cardiac catheterization. Most with small defects and Eisenmenger's syndrome were managed medically; most with large VSDs were managed surgically. Of those with moderate-size defects, some were managed medically, and some were managed surgically. Most had a second catheterization at the conclusion of NHS-1. More than 15 years have elapsed since NHS-1, and most of the cohort are adults. This report (Second Natural History Study) addresses the long-term results of medical and surgical management. METHODS AND RESULTS: Of an original cohort of 1,280 patients, 1,099 were alive at completion of NHS-1. New data were obtained on 976 (76.3%) of the original cohort. Probability of 25-year survival was 87%, and admission severity was the best predictor of survival. Of the 860 patients managed medically during NHS-1, 245 subsequently required surgical closure of the VSD. Only 5.5% of patients who had surgical closure required a second operation. On follow-up, there was a higher-than-normal prevalence of serious arrhythmias. Bacterial endocarditis occurred rarely. Of patients with small VSDs, 94.1% were in New York Heart Association functional class I. With the exception of those with Eisenmenger's syndrome, most patients had a final clinical status that was excellent or good. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients fared well. However, there was a higher-than-normal prevalence of serious arrhythmia and sudden death, including those with small VSDs.
Authors: Evgeny A Zemskov; Qing Lu; Wojciech Ornatowski; Christina N Klinger; Ankit A Desai; Emin Maltepe; Jason X-J Yuan; Ting Wang; Jeffrey R Fineman; Stephen M Black Journal: Antioxid Redox Signal Date: 2019-03-19 Impact factor: 8.401