title: Ventricular special defect in the elderly: an uncommon clinical entity.
abstract: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most frequent congenital heart disease in adults, with equal distribution in both sexes, and has an incidence of about 20% in children. In adults congenital VSDs represent about 10% of all cases and the mortality at age 60 is around 75%. For elderly patients >80 years old only one living case has been reported previously. Here we describe an 86-year-old patient, totally asymptomatic, with a muscular type of VSD that showed interesting, canal-like echocardiographic images.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. apatrianakos@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: Alexander P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Patrianakos
authors.forename: Fragiskos I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Parthenakis
authors.forename: Stavros I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Chrysostomakis
authors.forename: Panos E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Vardas
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index