Clinical assessment of arrhythmias in tetralogy of Fallot

Abstract

As a major success story of an early surgical era, corrective surgery transformed the prognosis of patients born with tetralogy of Fallot. With lifelong care, healthy survival well into adulthood is now the norm, albeit somewhat blemished by long-term sequelae. Arrhythmias are an important source of morbidity and a leading cause of mortality. This succinct review provides a contemporary summary of the prevalence and types of arrhythmias encountered in tetralogy of Fallot, including conduction disorders, atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias, and sudden death. Current prognostic markers and existing diagnostic tools are discussed, and available therapeutic options are elaborated.

Keywords::

• arrhythmias
• implantable cardioverter defibrillators
• programmed ventricular stimulation
• risk stratification
• sudden cardiac death
• tetralogy of Fallot

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank David Proulx for his assistance in creating the figures.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Paul Khairy is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Electrophysiology. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.