Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Heart Journal logoLink to British Heart Journal
. 1981 Jul;46(1):47–54. doi: 10.1136/hrt.46.1.47

Ventricular septal defect in children born in Liverpool 1960 to 1969. Evaluation of natural course and surgical implications in an unselected population.

D F Dickinson, R Arnold, J L Wilkinson
PMCID: PMC482601  PMID: 7272111

Abstract

We have reviewed data on all patients born between 1960 and 1969 and registered in the Liverpool Registry of Congenital Malformations as having congenital heart disease. There were 385 with a ventricular septal defect as their sole or main cardiac lesion. Analysis of the available follow-up data showed that 50 of these were subsequently assigned in other diagnostic categories and a further 41 failed to fulfil our diagnostic criteria for a ventricular septal defect, leaving 294 patients for study. In view of the high incidence of small defects in asymptomatic infants and children not subjected to cardiac catheterisation, clinical criteria for the acceptance of the diagnosis were defined and 190 patients were included on these grounds alone. The clinical course, associated cardiac and non-cardiac defects, and surgical implications were analysed. The majority of defects were small and 31% closed spontaneously. Fifty per cent of the deaths in infancy were unrelated to the ventricular septal defect. We estimate that by present criteria only 15% of an unselected population of patients with a ventricular septal defect are likely to require surgical treatment.

Full text

PDF
51

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alpert B. S., Mellits E. D., Rowe R. D. Spontaneous closure of small ventricular septal defects. probability rates in the first five years of life. Am J Dis Child. 1973 Feb;125(2):194–196. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1973.04160020028005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BLOOMFIELD D. K. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECT IN PATIENTS SURVIVING INFANCY. Circulation. 1964 Jun;29:914–955. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.29.6.914. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bound J. P., Logan W. F. Incidence of congenital heart disease in Blackpool 1957-1971. Br Heart J. 1977 Apr;39(4):445–450. doi: 10.1136/hrt.39.4.445. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Campbell M. Natural history of ventricular septal defect. Br Heart J. 1971 Mar;33(2):246–257. doi: 10.1136/hrt.33.2.246. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Collins G., Calder L., Rose V., Kidd L., Keith J. Ventricular septal defect: clinical and hemodynamic changes in the first five years of life. Am Heart J. 1972 Nov;84(5):695–705. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(72)90186-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Corone P., Doyon F., Gaudeau S., Guérin F., Vernant P., Ducam H., Rumeau-Rouquette C., Gaudeul P. Natural history of ventricular septal defect. A study involving 790 cases. Circulation. 1977 Jun;55(6):908–915. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.55.6.908. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dickinson D. F., Arnold R., Wilkinson J. L. Congenital heart disease among 160 480 liveborn children in Liverpool 1960 to 1969. Implications for surgical treatment. Br Heart J. 1981 Jul;46(1):55–62. doi: 10.1136/hrt.46.1.55. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. EVANS J. R., ROWE R. D., KEITH J. D. Spontaneous closure of ventricular septal defects. Circulation. 1960 Dec;22:1044–1054. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.22.6.1044. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. GRIFFITHS S. P., BLUMENTHAL S., JAMESON A. G., ELLIS K., MORGAN B. C., MALM J. R. VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECT. SURVIVAL IN ADULT LIFE. Am J Med. 1964 Jul;37:23–35. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(64)90209-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hoffman J. I., Christianson R. Congenital heart disease in a cohort of 19,502 births with long-term follow-up. Am J Cardiol. 1978 Oct;42(4):641–647. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(78)90635-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hoffman J. I. Natural history of congenital heart disease. Problems in its assessment with special reference to ventricular septal defects. Circulation. 1968 Jan;37(1):97–125. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.37.1.97. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kenna A. P., Smithells R. W., Fielding D. W. Congenital heart disease in Liverpool: 1960--69. Q J Med. 1975 Jan;44(173):17–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mitchell S. C., Korones S. B., Berendes H. W. Congenital heart disease in 56,109 births. Incidence and natural history. Circulation. 1971 Mar;43(3):323–332. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.43.3.323. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. SMITHELLS R. W. The Liverpool Congenital Abnormalities Registry. Dev Med Child Neurol. 1962 Jun;4:320–324. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1962.tb03174.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Shah P., Singh W. S., Rose V., Keith J. D. Incidence of bacterial endocarditis in ventricular septal defects. Circulation. 1966 Jul;34(1):127–131. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.34.1.127. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Heart Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES