Ultrasound Cardiography in Single Ventricle and the Hypoplastic Left and Right Heart Syndromes

Abstract

Seven cases of single ventricle, six cases of hypoplasia of the right heart (tricuspid atresia), and one case of hypoplasia of the left heart were investigated with reflected ultrasound. In hypoplasia of the right heart there was abnormal anterior movement of the mitral valve; in hypoplasia of the left heart, abnormal anterior movement of the tricuspid valve, and in single ventricle, similiar movement of the anterior component of a single valve. In one case of single ventricle, two separate valves were identified at different depths. In none of the cases could a ventricular septum separating two ventricular cavities be identified. Ultrasound cardiography may be particularly useful as a non-invasive preliminary investigation of infants with congenital heart disease. Failure to demonstrate a ventricular septum combined with the presence of a single atrioventricular valve moving abnormally far anteriorly may be an expression of marked hypoplasia of the left or right ventricles or an anatomically single ventricle with one valve.