The condition can eventually lead to stroke or heart failure, as the right side of the heart can become enlarged from overwork. Physicians have questioned whether to repair atrial septal defects before symptoms occur. Findings from a new study suggest that early treatment might benefit patients. Patients who undergo surgery early in life are less likely than others to experience potentially fatal atrial flutter or fibrillations following surgery, Michael A. Gatzoulis and colleagues of the University of Toronto Congenital Cardiac Center for Adults report in the March 18 New England Journal of Medicine. In the past, physicians were only able to detect the heart defect in its advanced stage.
Physicians can now find atrial septal defects much earlier, before symptoms arise, say researchers.
In the study, researchers looked for atrial flutter or fibrillations in 213 patients aged 16 to 80 who underwent surgery between 1986 and 1997 to close a hole in the heart wall. Participants included 82 men and 131 women. The 40 patients who sustained atrial flutter or fibrillations before surgery were older, average age of 59, and also had higher average pulmonary arterial pressure. Thirty nine of them were taking antiarrythmic drugs. All were over age 40 and tended to be older than those whose arrhythmias stopped.