ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses physiology, the ECG, cardiac positions, innocent murmurs, heart failure, eisenmenger reaction, teratogens and maternal disorders associated with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), inherited conditions associated with CHD, structural congenital heart disease, duct-dependent circulations, arrhythmias, rheumatic fever, infective endocarditis, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, and pericarditis of cardiology. It provides clinical manifestations, prognostic features, investigations, and management of the diseases. The classification of the normal and abnormal cardiac positions involves looking at the visceroatrial situs and the apex of the heart. Eisenmenger Reaction is when persistently increased pulmonary blood flow leads to increased pulmonary artery vascular resistance, pulmonary hypertension and, eventually, reversal of a previous Left-to-right shunts. Cardiac catheterization may be used for presurgical evaluation, evaluation of pulmonary vascular resistance, to monitor progress after surgical intervention and as a therapeutic tool in interventional cardiac catheterization, e.g. balloon dilatation, embolization and closure of intracardiac defects.
