Improved techniques of transvenous pacing have made it possible to use this approach in various congenital cardiac abnormalities. Transvenous active fixation pacing leads were implanted in seven patients aged 15 to 81 years with abnormal venous, atrioventricular, or ventriculoarterial connections with successful ventricular pacing.

A case of trisomy 9 showing a complex cardiac malformation is presented with a review of other published cases. A distinct trisomy 9 syndrome can be recognised with intrauterine growth retardation, short survival, consistent facial dysmorphism, congenital heart disease, and abnormalities of the skeletal, genital, and renal systems. There is no evidence for a maternal age effect.

CONGENITAL cardiac malformations are responsible for 3 to 10% of the instances of organic heart disease encountered in pregnant women and about 1% of all maternal deaths.14 Although most women with congenital heart disease pass through gestation without incident, a few develop alarming intrapartum or postpartum circulatory abnormalities which result in death.3' 5-8 These deaths are usually rela...

Atrial flutter ablation in CHD (Congenital Heart Disease) patients is a challenging procedure because of the possibility of multiple circuits. Electroanatomical mapping and pacing maneuvers are crucial to determine critical isthmus. Moreover, vascular abnormalities and residual cardiac defects need to be known before the ablation to decide the better strategy for ablation.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is the most common defect of the diaphragmatic muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. This malformation allows part of the abdominal structures (intestinal loops, stomach and liver) to herniate into the thoracic cavity, hampering the normal development of the lung and resulting in abnormalities in cardiac function (Santos et al...

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of congenital heart disease in babies with oesophageal atresia and its influence on outcome. DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING The resident population of one health region. RESULTS A total of 153 babies with oesophageal atresia were identified from 509 975 live births (0.30 per 1000); 26 (17%) had cardiac defects. Survival of babies with normal hea...

OBJECTIVE To contribute to a more balanced assessment of the morphological substrates underlying unexplained perinatal death and SIDS. METHODS In-depth histological, immunohistochemical and genetic examinations were performed on the autonomic nervous and cardiac conduction systems in 95 unexpected perinatal deaths, 140 SIDS and 78 controls (44 infants and 34 perinatal death victims). RESULT...