Epidemiology of cardiovascular malformations: The state of the art

Abstract

SummaryA historical review highlights an interest in the etiology of birth defects over the course of several centuries and recalls specific hypotheses on the origin of cardiovascular defects postulated 60 years ago. The “State of the Art” of the epidemiology of cardiovascular malformations is characterized by an expanding base of knowledge which holds promise for eventual preventive interventions. Epidemiologic investigations conducted in the past decade have led to an increased understanding of the benefits and problems of studies of populations and of methodologic issues in surveillance of disease and study of risk factors. Comparative evaluations of reported studies to an ongoing population-based case-control investigation (the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study) demonstrate variations in prevalence by time and place, evidence for a strong genetic predisposition to cardiac maldevelopment and new hypotheses regarding environmental risks in the home and place of occupation.

Spectrum of congenital heart defects in Croatia

“…The rates of specific cardiac defects in our study are generally comparable with 186 those reported from the Baltimore-Washington study by Ferencz et al and from EUROCAT registry [1,6,7]. As 187 expected, the most frequent diagnosis was ventricular septal defect, followed by atrial septal defect, patent 188 arterial duct, pulmonary stenosis, and atrioventricular septal defects.…”

“…On the other hand, the number of 44 adults with some form of congenital heart disease is growing rapidly as therapy becomes increasingly effective 45 [23]. Quantification of birth prevalence and spectrum of malformations, along with analysis of past trends of 46 management, allow for future planning of health services [7]. Congenital cardiac malformations are frequently associated with other non-cardiac congenital malformations and chromosomal anomalies.…”

Maternal lifestyle factors and risk for ventricular septal defects

“…Approximately 25-40% of CHDs are ventricular septal defects (VSDs), making VSD the most common type of CHD (Ferencz and Correa Villasenor, 1991;Tikkanen and Heinonen, 1991;Botto et al, 2001;Hoffman and Kaplan, 2002). Children with VSD are at risk for endocarditis, pulmonary infection, ventricular arrhythmias, and death from heart failure or pulmonary hypertension Ferencz et al, 1997;Brickner et al, 2000).…”

Epidemiological and clinical aspects of congenital heart disease in children in Tuzla Canton, Bosnia-Herzegovina

“…In most patients, CHD occurs as an isolated malformation, but about 33% have associated anomalies [4]. The reported incidence of associated extracardiac anomalies ranges from 7% to 45% [3,7]. This wide variation between reports on prevalence and incidence of associated malformations is the result of different methodologies used in various studies, as well as variations in ethnic occurrence and regional differences.…”