Drakopoulou M, Vlachakis PK, Tsioufis C, Tousoulis D. Congenital heart “Challenges” in Down syndrome. World J Cardiol 2024; 16(5): 217-220 [PMID: 38817649 DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i5.217]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Maria Drakopoulou, FESC, MD, MSc, PhD, Lecturer, Department of First Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 114 Vasilissis Sophia Avenue, Athens 11527, Greece. mdrakopoulou@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Cardiol. May 26, 2024; 16(5): 217-220 Published online May 26, 2024. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i5.217
Congenital heart “Challenges” in Down syndrome
Maria Drakopoulou, Panayotis K Vlachakis, Costas Tsioufis, Dimitris Tousoulis
Maria Drakopoulou, Panayotis K Vlachakis, Costas Tsioufis, Dimitris Tousoulis, Department of First Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
Author contributions: Drakopoulou M, Vlachakis PK for literature review; Drakopoulou M, Vlachakis PK, Tsioufis C, Tousoulis D for writing, original manuscript preparation. All authors have read and agreed to be published version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Maria Drakopoulou, FESC, MD, MSc, PhD, Lecturer, Department of First Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 114 Vasilissis Sophia Avenue, Athens 11527, Greece. mdrakopoulou@hotmail.com
Received: November 30, 2023 Revised: April 18, 2024 Accepted: May 13, 2024 Published online: May 26, 2024 Processing time: 175 Days and 1.9 Hours
Abstract
In this editorial, we comment on the article by Kong et al published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Cardiology. In this interesting case, the authors present the challenges faced in managing a 13-year-old patient with Down syndrome (DS) and congenital heart disease (CHD) associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension. In this distinct population, the Authors underscore the need for early diagnosis and management as well as the need of a multidisciplinary approach for decision making. It seems that the occurrence of CHD in patients with DS adds layers of complexity to their clinical management. This editorial aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the intricate interplay between DS and congenital heart disorders, offering insights into the nuanced diagnostic and therapeutic considerations for physicians.
Core Tip: Addressing the health challenges of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) poses intricate challenges, with congenital heart disease (CHD) being notably prevalent. The complexity of managing DS and CHD is heightened by diagnostic delays and difficulties in symptom assessment due to intellectual disabilities. Incorporating this unique population into comprehensive studies and randomized trials, with careful consideration of informed consent and a multidisciplinary research framework, is crucial.
