Congestive heart failure in infancy: Significance of the venous pressure

Abstract

Results of a study of the right atrial and inferior vena caval pressures in a group of 22 infants with congestive heart failure show that, except in terminal cases, the pressure in the right atrium was neither consistently nor markedly elevated when compared with that of a control group of infants. Despite the overt clinical signs, the average mean right atrial pressure in mild to moderate failure was not significantly different from that found in a group of infants with similar cardiac anomalies but without congestive failure. With severe failure the right atrial pressure was elevated. However, the degree of elevation was not nearly so high as one would expect from the degree of clinical severity. A discussion of the various mechanisms involved in congestive failure in adults reveals a dearth of information regarding these factors as they apply to infants. Results of a study of the right atrial and inferior vena caval pressures in a group of 22 infants with congestive heart failure show that, except in terminal cases, the pressure in the right atrium was neither consistently nor markedly elevated when compared with that of a control group of infants. Despite the overt clinical signs, the average mean right atrial pressure in mild to moderate failure was not significantly different from that found in a group of infants with similar cardiac anomalies but without congestive failure. With severe failure the right atrial pressure was elevated. However, the degree of elevation was not nearly so high as one would expect from the degree of clinical severity. A discussion of the various mechanisms involved in congestive failure in adults reveals a dearth of information regarding these factors as they apply to infants.