New doctor highlights late effects of congenital heart defect
Marie Ørum Maagaard is a medical doctor, PhD, and now also holds a doctoral degree at the Department of Clinical Medicine. She has studied the long-term consequences of one of the most common congenital heart defects.
In her doctoral thesis, Marie Ørum Maagaard investigated the effects of a small, untreated opening in the wall between the heart’s pumping chambers – a so-called ventricular septal defect (VSD). The condition has traditionally been regarded as having no significant clinical importance, and many patients are discharged from hospital follow-up early in life.
However, Marie Ørum Maagaard’s research points to a more nuanced picture.
By examining both younger and older adults with a small, persistent VSD, she found approximately 30 per cent lower oxygen uptake during physical activity compared with healthy peers. In addition, MRI and ultrasound scans showed that the patients had a reduced ability to increase cardiac output and contractile function during increasing physical exertion.
“Our results show that even small, persistent VSDs are not necessarily as harmless as previously assumed. Some patients may experience reduced physical capacity and altered cardiac function later in life,” says Marie Ørum Maagaard.
Today, the vast majority of children with congenital heart defects survive into adulthood. However, late complications may arise, sometimes only becoming apparent decades later. According to Marie Ørum Maagaard, this new knowledge should lead to greater awareness of the challenges that some patients with small, persistent VSDs may face later in life.
“I hope our research can help ensure that more patients are offered more systematic follow-up in adulthood. For some, closer monitoring and possible treatment may be necessary,” she says.
Contact
Doctor, PhD Marie Ørum Maagaard
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
Email: maagaard@clin.au.dk