scholarly journals Genotypes and Phenotypes: Making Progress Toward a Precision Medicine Approach in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 153-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel K. Hopper ◽  
Mary P. Mullen

Pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a heterogeneous disease that includes etiologies related to growth and development that are unique to children. Recent pediatric registry studies have characterized diverse phenotypes even within recognized PH subtypes, including PH associated with congenital heart disease and developmental lung disease. Advances in genetics are resulting in increased understanding of the genetic basis for PH, with recent discoveries such as TBX4 mutations specific for pediatric-onset pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and SOX17 related to congenital heart disease–associated PAH. In addition to potential genetic underpinnings, PAH risk and clinical presentation in children with congenital heart disease may vary by cardiac condition, such as single-ventricle physiology or transposition of the great arteries. Growth and development of the pulmonary vasculature likely plays a role in all pediatric PH, which is highlighted by the disruption of normal lung growth in patients with PH related to prematurity and developmental lung disease. These diverse pediatric genotypes and phenotypes underscore a need for an individualized approach to diagnose and treat the complex pediatric PH population. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used to improve clinical characterization of PH in children, with recent identification of specific MRI biomarkers associated with PH severity and outcomes. While much progress has been made, additional understanding of the important genetic causes and developmental concepts in pediatric PH is needed to develop a precision medicine approach to diagnosis and treatment of children with PH.

2020 ◽  
pp. 3695-3710
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Morrell

Symptoms of unexplained exertional breathlessness or symptoms out of proportion to coexistent heart or lung disease should alert the clinician to the possibility of pulmonary hypertension, and the condition should be actively sought in patients with known associated conditions, such as scleroderma, hypoxic lung disease, liver disease, or congenital heart disease. Heterozygous germ-line mutations in the gene encoding the bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor (BMPR2) are found in over 70% of families with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension is defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure greater than 25 mm Hg at rest, and may be due to increased pulmonary vascular resistance (e.g. pulmonary arterial hypertension), increased transpulmonary blood flow (e.g. congenital heart disease), or increased pulmonary venous pressures (e.g. mitral stenosis). Exercise tolerance and survival in pulmonary hypertension is ultimately related to indices of right heart function, such as cardiac output.


1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-231
Author(s):  
Yiu-Fai Cheung ◽  
Maurice P. Leung ◽  
E. P. Wang

AbstractWe report the progressive development of pulmonary hypertension despite the presence of severe pulmonary stenosis in three patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease. The associated intracardiac lesions were complete transposition with a ventricular septal defect, double outlet right ventricle, and a heart with univentricular atrioventricular connection, respectively. Serial measurements on hemodynamics and histological findings documented the progression of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular diseases. The underlying etiology remains speculative. In view of the possibility of development of pulmonary hypertension despite a ‘protected’ pulmonary vasculature, corrective surgery should be contemplated as soon as technically feasible.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Alves Mourato ◽  
Lúcia Roberta R. Villachan ◽  
Sandra da Silva Mattos

OBJECTIVE:To determine the frequence and profile of congenital heart defects in Down syndrome patients referred to a pediatric cardiologic center, considering the age of referral, gender, type of heart disease diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography and its association with pulmonary hypertension at the initial diagnosis.METHODS:Cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection of 138 patients with Down syndrome from a total of 17,873 records. Descriptive analysis of the data was performed, using Epi-Info version 7.RESULTS: Among the 138 patients with Down syndrome, females prevailed (56.1%) and 112 (81.2%) were diagnosed with congenital heart disease. The most common lesion was ostium secundum atrial septal defect, present in 51.8%, followed by atrioventricular septal defect, in 46.4%. Ventricular septal defects were present in 27.7%, while tetralogy of Fallot represented 6.3% of the cases. Other cardiac malformations corresponded to 12.5%. Pulmonary hypertension was associated with 37.5% of the heart diseases. Only 35.5% of the patients were referred before six months of age.CONCLUSIONS: The low percentage of referral until six months of age highlights the need for a better tracking of patients with Down syndrome in the context of congenital heart disease, due to the high frequency and progression of pulmonary hypertension.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Temesgen Tsega Desta

ABSTRACT Infants and children with congenital heart disease exhibit a range of delays in weight gain and growth. In some instances, the delay can be relatively mild, whereas in other cases, cause the failure to thrive. OBJECTIVES To determine the nutritional status and associated factors of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross sectional analytical study was done over a period of 6months (Feb to Jul 2020). A total of 228 subjects with congenital heart disease that come to the cardiac center during the study period where included until the calculated sample size was attained. Data was collected from patient card and care givers of the children included in the study after obtaining their informed consent using data inquiry sheet. RESULTS A total of 228 children from age 3month to 17yrs. Most of the subjects had acyanotic heart disease accounting for 87.7%. The overall prevalence of wasting, underweight and stunting were 41.3%, 49.1% and 43% respectively. Among this children with congenital heart disease those with PAH were found more likely have wasting compared to those without PAH with an odds of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.0-3.4) and also greater chance of being stunted with an odds of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.0-3.4). children above 5years of age were 2.3 times more likely to be underweight. CONCLUSION Malnutrition is a major problem of patients with CHD. Pulmonary hypertension and older age are associated with increased risk of undernutrition. KEYWORDS: Acyanotic, cyanotic, Pulmonary hypertension, underweight, wasting and stunting.


2015 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 717-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Alonso-Gonzalez ◽  
Carmen Jiménez Lopez-Guarch ◽  
Maria Teresa Subirana-Domenech ◽  
José María Oliver Ruíz ◽  
Isabel Otero González ◽  
...  

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