In dextrocardia, the heart is abnormally positioned in the right chest instead of forming in the left.  This is frequently detected during prenatal ultrasound and may or may not indicate a heart problem.

Dextrocardia Situs Inversus (mirror image) is extremely rare and usually involves no related medical problems.  If the viseral organs are mirrored as well, this is referred to as Dextrocardia Situs Inversus Totalis, which carries a small risk (5-10%) of congenital heart disease, usually transposition of the great vessels.

Dextrocardia which presents as the severe rotation of the heart onto the right side is a more serious condition which will likely require surgical correction of a cardiac defect.  The patient may have a complex form of transposition of the arteries (levo-transposition) or he may have double outlet right ventricle, meaning both the aorta and the pulmonary artery arise from the right ventricle.  Different problems may be present such as a ventricular septal defect or perhaps, Scimitar Syndrome.*

Adaptations must be made for patients with dextrocardia in the event that use of a defibrillator is necessary.  ECG leads and pads should be placed in reverse.

[My son, Nathan, has Scimitar Syndrome, a rare congenital heart defect characterized by dextrocardia, pulmonary hypoplasia, and Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return.  See About for more information.]

- Article and illustration by Karen Blakeney