Dextrocardia as a cardial development abnormality

Abstract

The purpose — to present a literature review on one of the rare heart development abnormalities — dextrocardia. Material and methods. Russian and foreign literary sources on dextrocardia were studied, special attention was paid to sources over the past 10 years. Results. A review of the medical literature on dextrocardia is presented, which examines the classification of this developmental abnormality, its epidemiology, historical aspects, clinical picture, and features of instrumental research. Conclusion. Dextrocardia is understood not only as an abnormality of the heart intra-thoracic location due to an embryogenesis violation (dextroversion and mirror dextrocardia), but also as the displacement of a normally developed heart into the right half of the chest due to extracardial causes (dextroposition). Despite the low prevalence of dextrocardia among the population, as well as an asymptomatic course, it can be diagnosed during a physical examination, which makes it possible to suspect this pathology at an early stage, thereby preventing diagnostic errors and speed up the correct diagnosis.