Document Detail


Disposition of the atrioventricular conduction tissues in the heart with isomerism of the atrial appendages: its relation to congenital complete heart block.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  1527300     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to compare histologically the mechanisms producing congenital complete heart block in normally structured hearts and in hearts with isomerism of the atrial appendages. BACKGROUND: It is known that several different histologic patterns can underscore the existence of congenital complete heart block in the normally structured heart, and that block is particularly frequent in the setting of isomerism of the atrial appendages. The histologic findings in the latter setting were compared and contrasted with those found in the normally structured heart. METHODS: Serial section techniques were used to study 14 hearts with isomerism of the atrial appendage (12 with left isomerism and 2 with right isomerism) and 7 normally structured hearts. RESULTS: Discontinuity between the atrioventricular (AV) node and the ventricular conduction tissues was found in 10 of the 12 hearts with left isomerism; the other 2 hearts had a normally formed conduction axis and heart block was not present in these cases. In both hearts with right isomerism, "slings" of ventricular conduction tissue connected dual AV nodes; congenital complete heart block was not present in either case. In six of the seven cases with a normally structured heart, anti-Ro antibodies had been found in the maternal serum. All six of these hearts had discontinuity between the atrial tissues and the ventricular conduction axis. Intraventricular discontinuity was found in the seventh case, in which anti-Ro antibodies were not found in the mother. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of congenital complete heart block in cases with left isomerism is discontinuity between the AV node and the conduction axis, in contrast to the pattern of atrial-axis discontinuity produced in the normally structured heart when anti-Ro antibodies are found in the maternal serum.
Authors:
S Y Ho; N Fagg; R H Anderson; A Cook; L Allan
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of the American College of Cardiology     Volume:  20     ISSN:  0735-1097     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.     Publication Date:  1992 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1992-10-22     Completed Date:  1992-10-22     Revised Date:  2010-03-24    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8301365     Medline TA:  J Am Coll Cardiol     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  904-10     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, National Heart and Lung Institute, London, England.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Abnormalities, Multiple / pathology
Antibodies, Antinuclear / analysis
Atrioventricular Node / abnormalities*
Female
Fetal Heart / abnormalities
Heart Atria / abnormalities*
Heart Block / congenital*,  pathology
Heart Conduction System / abnormalities*
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Antibodies, Antinuclear; 0/SS-A antibodies

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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