PhD defence L. (Lixia) Dai

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation

Children born with congenital heart disease (CHD) are now surviving well into adulthood thanks to major advances in surgery and medical care. However, many of these patients later develop rhythm disorders, which can seriously affect their quality of life and long-term health. The reasons why these arrhythmias develop are still not fully understood.
This thesis explored whether early electrical changes in the heart are already present before surgical repair in children with CHD. Using high-resolution epicardial mapping during surgery, this work showed that different types of CHDs already display distinct electrical patterns early in life. These alterations appear to be influenced by the complex interaction of abnormal heart anatomy, hemodynamic overload, reduced oxygen levels, and cardiac development.
The findings suggest that electrophysiological alterations associated with future arrhythmia vulnerability may already be present early in life, long before clinical symptoms appear. This thesis also showed that simple and non-invasive tools such as ECGs and Holter monitoring may help identify patients at higher risk of arrhythmias later in life.
Together, this thesis provides new insight into early electrophysiological alterations in patients with CHD.