Pediatric Dextrocardia

What is Pediatric Dextrocardia?

A child’s heart is normally located toward the left side of the chest, but with dextrocardia, it is to the right. “Dextro” means “right” in Latin. In its simplest form – known as isolated dextrocardia – the heart functions and looks just like a healthy heart, even though it is on a different side. In other cases, the changes can be more complex and cause additional complications.

If a child is diagnosed with dextrocardia, these other conditions can occur alongside the different heart structure:

• Aorta and pulmonary artery locations are switched
• Aorta connects to the right ventricle instead of the left ventricle
• Hole in the wall that separates the right and left ventricles, known as ventricular septal defect
• Narrowing or malformation of the pulmonary valve
• Single ventricle instead of two ventricles
• Walls separating the four chambers of the heart may be poorly formed or absent

Other related conditions include:

• Kartagener syndrome ­– a child with dextrocardia may also have Kartagener syndrome, in which the cilia (tiny hairs) in the nose and lungs that sweep away germs don’t work correctly.
• Missing spleen – a child with dextrocardia may also be missing a spleen, which is a critical component of the immune system, thus causing them to be sick more often.

What are the different types of Pediatric Dextrocardia?

There are several types of dextrocardia, including:

Isolated dextrocardia

This is the simplest form of dextrocardia. In these children, the heart is located further right in the chest than usual, but they do not exhibit other medical concerns.