New directions in device therapies among children and adults with congenital heart

Abstract

Innovative, nonthoracotomy, catheter-delivered therapies have redefined the approach to and treatment of congenital heart defects. Starting in the 1960s with the creation of an opening in the atrial septum to permit effective blood mixing and improve oxygen saturation in cyanotic infants, interventional cardiac procedures continue to replace many of the time-honored surgeries that were the mainstay of repair or correction for infants and children with heart defects. Now as those children reach adulthood and still require modifications of their defects, catheter-based interventions are becoming more important. This article examines some of the more recent applications of device therapy currently available to patients with congenital heart, including heart failure, septal defects, vascular problems and heart valves. Device use in deference to surgery, risks and benefits as well as complications associated with such catheter-delivered therapies are discussed.