Research Medical Delta Cardiac Arrhythmia Lab: Conduction disorders of the heart already occur in very young children

By using a special technique, Dutch researchers have detailed the electrical conductivity in the heart of children for the first time. The measurements showed that electrical conduction disturbances in the atria of the heart occur at a very young age. The research is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Newspaper NRC Handelsblad posted an article about it, which can be read here.

This may explain why people with a congenital heart defect develop cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation at a young age. Ultimately, these measurements can be an important step in the search for the causes and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

The research, led by Medical Delta professor Prof. Natasja de Groot (Erasmus MC, TU Delft) and department head of thoracic surgery Prof. Ad Bogers, in collaboration with pediatric heart surgeons, pediatric cardiologists and PhD students, was carried out on babies and very young children and is part out of the scientific program Medical Delta Cardiac Arrhythmia Lab.

Mapping techniques

It is the first time that scientists have applied so-called ‘mapping techniques’ in very young children. Because this technique can only be used during open heart surgery, it can only be applied to children with a congenital heart defect because they are operated at an early age. During mapping, special made sensors are placed on the heart. These sensors accurately map the electrical conduction around the heart, so that disorders are detected very precisely. In the past year, dozens of very young patients at the Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam have been examined during open-heart surgery.

“The measurements showed that the studied children have a conduction disorder. This may explain why cardiac arrhythmias can develop at a young age,” says Prof. Natasja de Groot.

After this first observation, the researchers want to map the characteristics of the conduction disturbances. What is it related to? Are there specific places where it occurs? “We want to turn this into benchmarks so that we can clearly distinguish deviations from each other and ultimately measure them externally. We also want to compare the electrical conductivity disorders in young children with those in adults and identify possible connections.”

By obtaining a lot of data, scientists hope to be able to better determine the best way to treat specific heart rhythm disorders. “This research may be an important step in this,” says De Groot.

Collaboration between different disciplines

The sensor equipment used for the measurements was developed together with Medical Delta professor Prof. Wouter Serdijn (TU Delft, Erasmus MC). Prof. Alle-Jan van der Veen (TU Delft) developed a method to analyze the data obtained. De Groot, Serdijn and Van der Veen, together with Prof. Bianca van Brundel (Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC), are the Scientific Leaders of the scientific program Medical Delta Cardiac Arrhythmia Lab. In this interdisciplinary study, doctors and technicians work together to map cardiac arrhythmias with the to improve treatment.

Amazing Erasmus published an extensive article about the research, this article can be read here.