Eisenmenger syndrome

Eisenmenger syndrome
Other namesES, Eisenmenger's syndrome, Eisenmenger reaction, tardive cyanosis.
Heart with a ventricular septal defect showing
Eisenmenger Syndrome due to a ventricular septal defect
SpecialtyMedical genetics Edit this on Wikidata
TreatmentSupportive measures, transplant surgery

Eisenmenger syndrome or Eisenmenger's syndrome is defined as the process in which a long-standing left-to-right cardiac shunt caused by a congenital heart defect (typically by a ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, or less commonly, patent ductus arteriosus) causes pulmonary hypertension[1][2] and eventual reversal of the shunt into a cyanotic right-to-left shunt. Because of the advent of fetal screening with echocardiography early in life, the incidence of heart defects progressing to Eisenmenger syndrome has decreased.

Eisenmenger syndrome in a pregnant mother can cause serious complications,[3] though successful delivery has been reported.[4] Maternal mortality ranges from 30% to 60%, and may be attributed to fainting spells, blood clots forming in the veins and traveling to distant sites, hypovolemia, coughing up blood or preeclampsia. Most deaths occur either during or within the first weeks after delivery.[5] Pregnant women with Eisenmenger syndrome should be hospitalized after the 20th week of pregnancy, or earlier if clinical deterioration occurs.

  1. ^ Jensen AS, Iversen K, Vejlstrup NG, Hansen PB, Søndergaard L (April 2009). "Eisenmenger syndrome". Ugeskrift for Laeger (in Danish). 171 (15): 1270–5. PMID 19416617.
  2. ^ "Eisenmenger syndrome" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  3. ^ Siddiqui S, Latif N (2008). "PGE1 nebulisation during caesarean section for Eisenmenger's syndrome: a case report". J Med Case Rep. 2 (1): 149. doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-149. PMC 2405798. PMID 18466628.
  4. ^ Makaryus AN, Forouzesh A, Johnson M (November 2006). "Pregnancy in the patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome". Mt. Sinai J. Med. 73 (7): 1033–6. PMID 17195894. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  5. ^ Oechslin, Erwin; Mebus, Siegrun; Schulze-Neick, Ingram; Niwa, Koichiro; Trindade, Pedro T; Eicken, Andreas; Hager, Alfred; Lang, Irene; Hess, John; Kaemmerer, Harald (2010). "The Adult Patient with Eisenmenger Syndrome: A Medical Update after Dana Point Part III: Specific Management and Surgical Aspects". Current Cardiology Reviews. 6 (4): 363–372. doi:10.2174/157340310793566127. ISSN 1573-403X. PMC 3083818. PMID 22043213.