Uncorrected tetralogy of fallot in a 47 year old Nigerian man: a case report

Abstract

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease and is usually diagnosed in childhood. Uncorrected TOF has a bad prognosis with 95% mortality by the age of twenty. There are reports of patients with uncorrected TOF who survived into adulthood with minimal symptoms. This has been attributed to relatively small degrees of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction and/or presence of congenital aorto-pulmonary shunts. Very few cases of uncorrected TOF in adults have been reported in Africa. We report this case of uncorrected TOF in a 47 year old Nigerian man to highlight this rare presentation in adult life. He is the oldest case of TOF so far reported in Nigeria. He had hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy which may have contributed to his longevity.

Keywords: Congenital heart disease, Ventricular septal defect, Pulmonary stenosis, Adulthood