Background: Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is among most common congenital heart diseases. Doppler echocardiography could be a useful method to monitor the outcomes of ASD in children. Objectives: To evaluate the role of echocardiography in monitoring the outcomes of ASD closure in children. Subjects and methods: 31 patients (20 girls, 11 boys) with ASD ostinum secundum. The mean age of patients was 9.19+/-4.58 (2-15 years old). The patients had a mean ASD size of 20.71+/-7.81mm, mean Qp/Qs of 3.04+/-1.37. All of them underwent the ASD closure (slow physical development and/or Right Ventricular [RV] enlargement by echo cardiography). They were followed up at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after the closure procedure. Results: All of the patients had improvement in weight. The right ventricular end-diastolic dimension and pulmonary artery diameter decreased significantly (p<0.0001) and normalised at 6 months after ASD closure. There were no trivial shunts. Conclusions: Echocardiography is a helpful noninvasive method to assess the outcomes of ASD closure in children less than 15 years old. ASD closure should be done as soon as possible in children. The procedure resulted in normalization of RV size that was associated with improvement in physical development of children.
Echocardiography ; atrial septal defect ; ECG

In the field of medicine and cardiology, there is perhaps no other condition or situation that stimulates an adrenalin rush for the healthcare team than a patient presenting with wide QRS complex tachycardia. These cases may be potentially fatal and are usually associated with worse outcomes. While the real-world experience in the evaluation and management of these cases can be chaotic situations, a careful, systematic and organized scrutiny of the electrocardiographic tracing is key to obtaining a correct diagnosis and proceeding with the right therapeutic management. An understanding of the physiological mechanisms of arrhythmia, the appreciation of scientific basis for electrocardiographic features and recognition of different criteria for diagnosis provides endless opportunities and “teachable moments” in medicine. For both learners and teachers, the academic discussion of these points and features can be an exciting journey and electrifyingly educational experience. This article provides a simplified yet beautifully complicated approach to diagnosing wide complex tachycardia.

Human ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; Electrocardiography ; Ecg