Project 452502

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of the most common congenital heart defects. ASD is a hole in the wall that separates left and right sides of heart and prevents the mixing of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood. The defect can be diagnosed early in childhood or later in adulthood. In adults, first symptoms include shortness of breath and fatigue. Left untreated, ASD can cause poor heart function, decreased quality of life and survival. The current recommended treatment is the implantation of a device through a cardiac catheterization to close the hole. Different devices are currently used for ASD closure but little is known how different they are in terms of heart rhythm disturbances, heart function, and quality of life. We propose a study that will compare currently available three devices for ASD closure in Canada. Because this is a relatively rare condition (~400 ASD closures in adults per year in Canada), we will conduct the study in 3 provinces representing more than 50% of this patient population. To be successful, first we created a network of stakeholders including patient partners (Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance), healthcare providers, researchers and policy makers and then set together to decide the most important research questions we want to answer in the field. This is how we came up with this research topic. Before the large study, we propose to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of patient enrollment, feasibility of use of devices for evaluating heart rhythm and arrhythmias, and feasibility of conducting patient surveys. The study results will help to design the final study and will inform data collection and measurement of outcomes for other research questions in congenital heart diseases that were prioritized by our network.