Palpitation
I. Definition Palpitation is one of the most common cardiac symptoms encountered in medical practice but it poorly corresponds to demonstrable abnormalities. The term palpitation is used loosely to describe…
Cyanotic Congenital Heart Defects
A. CYANOSIS I. Pathophysiology of Cyanosis Before discussing individual cyanotic CHD, a brief review of pathophysiology of cyanosis is in order. II. Causes of Cyanosis Cyanosis is a bluish discoloration…
Valvular Heart Disease
Valvular heart disease is either congenital or acquired. Many congenital valvular abnormalities are associated with other major defects. A relatively isolated form of valvular heart disease is rheumatic in origin,…
Cardiac Tumors
I. Prevalence 1. Cardiac tumors in the pediatric age group are very rare. A large portion of pediatric primary heart tumors (about 70%) are seen in patients younger than 1…
Cardiovascular Involvement in Systemic Diseases
Many systemic diseases may have important cardiovascular (CV) manifestations. The CV manifestations usually are evident when the diagnosis of the primary disease is made, but occasionally CV manifestations may precede…
Cardiac Arrhythmias
Normal heart rate varies with age: the younger the child, the faster the heart rate. Therefore the definitions used for adults of bradycardia (fewer than 60 beats/min) and tachycardia (above…
Atrioventricular Conduction Disturbances
AV block is a disturbance in conduction between the normal sinus impulse and the eventual ventricular response. The block is assigned to one of three classes, according to the severity…
Pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
A pacemaker is a device that delivers battery-supplied electrical stimuli over leads to electrodes that are in contact with the heart. It primarily treats bradycardia. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)…
Cardiovascular Infections and Related Conditions
I. Infective Endocarditis (Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis) A. Prevalence Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) affects 0.5:1000 to 1:1000 hospital patients, excluding those with postoperative endocarditis. B. Pathology and Pathogenesis 1. Two factors…
