PhD defence S. (Sahra) Ünlütürk

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

Congenital heart defects (CHD) occur in 9.1 per 1000 live births. Due to advances in diagnostics and care, survival rates have significantly improved, with 97% of children born with CHD now reaching adulthood. However, long-term complications, such as arrhythmias, valve dysfunction, and heart failure, remain common and require ongoing care and monitoring.

The results of this thesis show that long-term outcomes vary among different CHD types. For Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), the survival rate at 50 years was 71%, but only 9% of patients were free of complications. In Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) after Mustard repair, survival at 48 years was 61%, with heart failure and arrhythmias being leading causes of death. For Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), the survival rate was 77%, but there was an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, and 10% of patients developed arrhythmias. Pulmonary Stenosis (PS) had a survival rate of 87%, but 13% of patients required re-intervention due to residual narrowing.

Additionally, left atrial strain (LAS) in right-sided pathology was found to be a valuable marker for predicting arrhythmias. Patients with Turner Syndrome (TS) exhibited specific challenges with CHD, including an increased risk of aortic dissection and aneurysm, requiring lifelong monitoring.