The change of right ventricular function after transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect

Objective To evaluate changes of RV volume and function in patients with ASD after transcatheter closure of ASD by three-dimensional echocardiography. Methods In 58 patients with ASD (24 men, 34 women; mean age 28.9±17.1, range 4 to 67 years), 23 patients (11 men, 12 women; mean age 25.7±13.3, range 6 to 57 years) were diagnosed as secundum ASD [the stretched diameters of ASD were from 9 to 36 (25.1±7.5) mm], and had successfully received Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO, the sizes of ASO ranged from 11 to 40 mm ). 32 healthy people (18 men, 14 women; mean age 24.8±12.0, range 4 to 45) were matched interms of age and sex as the control group. Three-dimensional images were acquired by HP-SONOS 5500 cardiac scanner (Hewlett-Packard Company, Andover, Mass) and were reconstructed by Tom-Tec EchoView 4.2 (TomTec Imaging Systems, GmbH) to calculate right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end-systolic volume (RVESV) and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF). RVEDV, RVESV and RVEF were measured at 3 days, 1 and 3 months after the procedure. Results The RVEDV and RVESV [(101.74±25.17) mL vs (59.65±15.00) mL, P0.01; (56.81±16.77) mL vs (27.83±9.17) mL,P0.01] were enlarged in patients with ASD compared with that in the control group, resulting in a remarkable decrease of the RVEF [(44.82±4.51)% vs (54.11±5.89)%, P0.01]. After transcatheter closure of ASD, the RVEDV and RVESV decreased; but the RVEF increased. Conclusion The volume load is greater and the RV function decreases in patients with ASD compared with those in the control group. Transcatheter closure of ASD not only eliminates volume load of the right ventricle, but also improves its function.