LATE FUNCTIONAL RESULTS AFTER SURGICAL CLOSURE OF ACQUIRED VENTRICULAR SEPTAL-DEFECT

To assess the longer term outlook for patients who have undergone surg ery for acquired (postinfarction) ventricular septal defect, we interv iewed and studied 60 survivors from a single regional cardiac center b etween 3 and 144 months after the operation. Including the patients wh o died within 1 month of the operation, the 5-, 10-, and 14-year survi vals (with standard errors) were 69% (65% to 74% 50% (44% to 57%), and 37% (27% to 46%). Eighty-two percent of patients were in New York Hea rt Association class I or II. Ten patients (17%) had a persisting but not hemodynamically significant ventricular septal defect. Mean left v entricular ejection fraction was reduced at 0.39 (standard deviation 0 .15), but this did not correlate with either New York Heart Associatio n class or exercise tolerance. Twenty-eight patients (47%) had asympto matic arrhythmias (17 with ventricular premature beats). Angina and ot her medic-al problems were not prevalent.