Published data showing the intermediate effect of transcatheter device closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) in the pediatric age-group are scarce. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of transcatheter ASD closure on right and left ventricular functions by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). The study included 37 consecutive patients diagnosed as ASD secundum by transthoracic echocardiography and TEE and referred for transcatheter closure at Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital, Egypt, from October 2010 to July 2013. Thirty-seven age- and sex-matched controls were selected. TDI was obtained using the pulsed Doppler mode, interrogating the right cardiac border (the tricuspid annulus) and lateral mitral annulus, and myocardial performance index (MPI) was calculated at 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month post-device closure. Transcatheter closure of ASD and echocardiographic examinations were successfully performed in all patients. There were no significant differences between two groups as regards the age, gender, weight or BSA. TDI showed that patients with ASD had significantly prolonged isovolumetric contraction, relaxation time and MPI compared with control group. Decreased tissue Doppler velocities of RV and LV began at one-month post-closure compared with the controls. Improvement in RVMPI and LVMPI began at 1-month post-closure, but they are still prolonged till 1 year. Reverse remodeling of right and left ventricles began 1 month after transcatheter ASD closure, but did not completely normalize even after 1 year of follow-up by tissue Doppler imaging.
Keywords: ASD; Myocardial performance index; Tissue Doppler imaging; Transcatheter closure.