The MCG Pediatric Podcast

Author: mcgpediatricpodcast

The focus of the MCG Pediatric Podcast is to produce educational material on pediatric general and subspecialty topics that will be helpful in everyday clinical practice. These discussions will be led by our pediatric residents with a general or subspecialty faculty member who is an expert in the field.
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en

Genres: Education, Science

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

Acyanotic Congenital Heart Diseases
Episode 5
Wednesday, 22 October, 2025

Did you know that congenital heart defects (CHDs) affect nearly 40,000 babies born in the United States every year? On this episode, Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Melissa Lefebvre and medical student Marina Hashim discuss the evaluation and management of common acyanotic congenital heart conditions. Specifically, they will: Review the classification of CHDs as cyanotic versus acyanotic. Discuss the pathophysiology of the three most common acyanotic CHDs – ASD, PDA, and VSD. Describe early clinical findings and use of diagnostic tools. Cover management options, ranging from spontaneous closure to surgical intervention. Explore prognosis and long-term outcomes on physical activity, neurodevelopment, and overall health. Special thanks to Dr. Rebecca Yang and Dr. Abeer Hamdy for peer reviewing this episode. CME available free with sign up: Click Here! References: Dimopoulos, K., Constantine, A., Clift, P., & Condliffe, R. (2023). Cardiovascular complications of down syndrome: Scoping review and expert consensus. Circulation, 147(5). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.059706 Dugdale, D. C. (Ed.). (n.d.). Pediatric heart surgery - discharge. Mount Sinai. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/discharge-instructions/pediatric-heart-surgery-discharge Eckerström, F., Nyboe, C., Maagaard, M., Redington, A., & Hjortdal, V. (2023). Survival of patients with congenital ventricular septal defect. European Heart Journal, 44 (1,1), 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac618 Heart MRI. (2022, July 24). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21961-heart-mri Leihao, S., Yajiao, L., Yunwu, Z., Yusha, T., Yucheng, C., & Lei, C. (2023). Heart-brain axis: Association of congenital heart abnormality and brain diseases. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1071820 Meyer, K. (Ed.). (2022, May 1). What is a ventricular septal defect (VSD)? Cincinnati Children's. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/v/vsd Minette, M. S., & Sahn, D. S. (2006). Ventricular septal defects. Circulation, 114(20). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.618124 Mussatto, K. A., Hoffmann, R. G., Hoffman, G. M., Tweddell, J. S., Bear, L., Cao, Y., & Brosig, C. (2014). Risk and prevalence of developmental delay in young children with congenital heart disease. Pediatrics, 133(3), e570–e577. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-2309 Pruthi, S. (Ed.). (2022, October 21). Ventricular septal defect (VSD). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ventricular-septal-defect/symptoms-causes/syc-20353495 Right heart catheterization. (2022, July 24). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21045-right-heart-catheterization Shah, S., Mohanty, S., Karande, T., Maheshwari, S., Kulkarni, S., & Saxena, A. (2022). Guidelines for physical activity in children with heart disease. Annals of pediatric cardiology, 15(5-6), 467–488. https://doi.org/10.4103/apc.apc_73_22 Sigmon, E., Kellman, M., Susi, A., Nylund, C., & Oster, M. (2019). Congenital heart disease and Autism: A case-control study. Pediatrics, 144(5). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-4114 Thacker, D. (Ed.). (2022, January 1). Ventricular septal defect (VSD). Nemours Kids Health. Retrieved April 10, 2024, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/vsd.html Tierney, S., & Seda, E. (2020). The benefit of exercise in children with congenital heart disease. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 32(5), 626-632. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000942 Ventricular septal defects (VSD). (2021, November 9). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved April 2, 2024,from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17615-ventricular-septal-defects-vsd Ventricular septal defect surgery for children. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved April 11,2024, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/ventricular-septal-defect-surgery-for-children#:~:text=During%20this%20surgery%2C%20a%20surgeon,the%20hole%20between%20the%20ventricles Wernovsky, G., & Licht, D. J. (2016). Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in children with congenital heart disease - what can we impact?. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies, 17(8 Suppl 1), S232–S242. https://doi.org/10.1097/PCC.0000000000000800