PediatrCardiol (2010) 31:1–6

DOI 10.1007/s00246-009-9516-0

Received: 5 February 2009 / Accepted: 3 August 2009

Published online: 29 August 2009

Dextrocardia: Practical Clinical Points and Comments on Terminology

Authors

William N Evans, MD, Ruben J Acherman, MD, Juan C Collazos, MD, William J Castillo, MD, Robert C Rollins, MD, Katrinka T Kip, MD, Humberto Restrepo, MD

Source

Children’s Heart Center Nevada, 3006 S Maryland Parkway, Ste 690, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA. Email: WNevans50@aol.com.

Abstract

Dextrocardia is defined by the authors as a right sided heart with a base–apex axis directed rightward, resulting from a variation in cardiac development, and not used as a general term indicating any heart in the right chest. Dextrocardia occurs in approximately 0.01% of live births and can be discovered in various clinical settings and at various patient ages. The authors review their experience with dextrocardia, discuss useful clinical points that aid in evaluating complex anatomy, recount the history of dextrocardia terminology, and note the current inconsistent nomenclature.

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