Peripheral Microvascular Dysfunction in Children and Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: A Literature Review

Inne Vanreusel; Wendy Hens; Emeline Van Craenenbroeck; An Van Berendoncks; Vincent F M Segers

doi:10.2174/011573403X278440240209064408

Peripheral Microvascular Dysfunction in Children and Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: A Literature Review

Curr Cardiol Rev. 2024 Feb 21. doi: 10.2174/011573403X278440240209064408. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Inne Vanreusel¹, Wendy Hens¹, Emeline Van Craenenbroeck¹, An Van Berendoncks¹, Vincent F M Segers¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Cardiology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium.

PMID: 38409710
DOI: 10.2174/011573403X278440240209064408

Abstract

Although there is a continually growing number of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) due to medical and surgical advances, these patients still have a poorer prognosis compared to healthy individuals of similar age. In patients with heart failure, microvascular dysfunction (MVD) has recently emerged as a crucial modulator of disease initiation and progression. Because of the substantial pathophysiological overlap between CHD and heart failure induced by other etiologies, MVD could be important in the pathophysiology of CHD as well. MVD is believed to be a systemic disease and may be manifested in several vascular beds. This review will focus on what is currently known about MVD in the peripheral vasculature in CHD. Therefore, a search on the direct assessment of the vasodilatory capacity of the peripheral microcirculation in patients with CHD was conducted in the PubMed database. Since there is little data available and the reported studies are also very heterogeneous, peripheral MVD in CHD is not sufficiently understood to date. Its exact extent and pathophysiological relevance remain to be elucidated in further research.

Keywords: "Endothelium; "Heart Defects; Congenital heart disease; Congenital&[Mesh].; Endothelial (dys)function; Microvascular (dys)function; Peripheral microvascular (dys)function; Vascular/physiopathology&[MeSH].