(medicine) The presence of the heart in the right hemithorax, with the cardiac apex directed to the right.
Dextrocardia
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: dextrocardia |
(′dek·strō′kär·dē·ə)
| 5min Related Video: Dextrocardia |
| Medical Dictionary: dex·tro·car·di·a |
(dĕk'strō-kär'dē-ə)
n.
n.
The displacement of the heart to the right, either as dextroposition of a normal heart, or as cardiac heterotaxia, in which the left and right chambers are transposed.
| Veterinary Dictionary: dextrocardia |
Location of the heart in the right side of the thorax, the apex pointing to the right.
- mirror-image d. — location of the heart in the right side of the chest, the atria being transposed and the right ventricle lying anteriorly and to the left of the left ventricle.
| WordNet: dextrocardia |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
abnormal condition where the heart is located toward the right side of the chest
| Wikipedia: Dextrocardia |
| Dextrocardia | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | Q24.0 |
| ICD-9 | 746.87 |
| DiseasesDB | 3617 |
| MeSH | C14.240.400.280 |
Dextrocardia is a congenital defect in which the heart is situated on the right side of the body. There are two main types of dextrocardia, dextrocardia of embryonic arrest and dextrocardia situs inversus. Dextrocardia situs inversus is further divided.
Contents |
Dextrocardia of embryonic arrest
In this form of dextrocardia, the heart is simply placed farther right in the thorax than is normal. It is commonly associated with severe defects of the heart and related abnormalities including pulmonary hypoplasia.[1]
Dextrocardia situs inversus
Dextrocardia situs inversus refers to the heart being a mirror image situated on the right side. For all visceral organs to be mirrored, the correct term is dextrocardia situs inversus totalis.
Dextrocardia is believed[2] to occur in approximately 1 in 12,000[citation needed] people, while one of 30 of these will have situs inversus. Totalis occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 of dextrocardia situs inversus.
Kartagener’s syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 25 of totalis. This disorder affects the sinus and bronchial cilia causing constant sinus and bronchial symptoms that medication cannot rectify. With Kartagener’s both are usually present all year rather than being seasonal.
Although statistically people with dextrocardia situs inversus do not have any medical problems from the disorder, some are prone to a number of bowel, esophagus, bronchial and cardiac problems. Some of these conditions can be life threatening if left unchecked.
Diagnosis
Medical diagnosis of the two forms of congenital dextrocardia can be made by ECG[1] or imaging.
Technical dextrocardia
Technical dextrocardia refers to an ECG reading that has no basis in the patient's anatomy. This apparent presentation of dextrocardia is caused usually by the technician inadvertently swapping the limb leads on a 12 lead ECG. Usually this would show as an extreme axis deviation.
Management
ECG leads must be placed in reversed positions on a person with dextrocardia. In addition, when defibrillating someone with dextrocardia, the pads should be placed in reverse positions. That is, instead of upper right and lower left, pads should be placed upper left and lower right.
References
- ^ a b M. E. Abbott and J. C. Meakins (1915). "On the differentiation of two forms of congenital dextrocardia". Bulletin of the International Association of Medical Museums (5): 134–138. http://books.google.com/books?id=KKK4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA134.
- ^ Bohun CM, Potts JE, Casey BM, Sandor GG (July 2007). "A population-based study of cardiac malformations and outcomes associated with dextrocardia". Am. J. Cardiol. 100 (2): 305–9. doi:. PMID 17631088. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0002914907007205.
External links
- Dextrocardia at NIH's Office of Rare Diseases
- Dextrocardia with situs inversus at NIH's Office of Rare Diseases
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 | Kartagener's syndrome |
| acyanotic |
| Situs Inversus |
 | Dextrocardia usually occurs as part of situs inversus What is situs inversus? Read answer... |
| What is dextrocardia? Read answer... |
| Is Dextrocardia genetic? Read answer... |
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 | Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Read more |
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| Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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