BACKGROUND First and second-degree heart blocks are partly common rhythm disorders in thalassemic patients but complete heart block is a very rare complication of iron overload cardiomyopathy. CASE PRESENTATION This 15-year-old boy, a known case of major β-thalassemia was admitted to our emergency unit with dyspnea and cough because of decompensated heart failure. The electrocardiogram showed...

BACKGROUND A serious complication after surgical closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD) is complete heart block. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the incidence of complete heart block after surgical closure of a VSD at Great Ormond Street Hospital from 1976 to 2001 to identify any particular anatomic features that still predisposed patients to surgically-induced complete heart block...

OBJECTIVE Congenital heart block may develop in the fetuses of Ro/SSA-positive and La/SSB-positive mothers. Recurrence rates of only 10-20% despite persisting maternal antibodies indicate that additional factors are critical for the establishment of heart block. The authors investigated the influence of other maternal and fetal factors on heart block development in a Swedish population-based co...