Introduction
In the last few years there have been several papers on the association of cerebral abscess and cyanotic congenital heart disease.* Defects of the cardiac septum are a well-recognized feature of mongolism.7 However, little or no emphasis has been placed on episodic loss of consciousness, convulsions, cerebrovascular accidents, and other neurological conditions. These are surprisingly common. It is the purpose of this paper to review the relative frequency of certain neurological complications of congenital heart disease as seen in the cardiac clinic of the Harriet Lane Home.
Material
Records of 1875 patients of the cardiac clinic at the Harriet Lane Home, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, were reviewed, covering the period from 1944 to 1955. Neurological complications following catheterization studies or operative intervention were not included. All diagnosed forms of malformations were included. However, such common types as patent ductus arteriosus and isolated septal defects were found to have