Winkler R B, Nora A H, Nora J J
Circulation. 1977 Dec;56(6):1103-7. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.56.6.1103.
A family is reported in which two siblings had congenital complete heart block with resultant congestive heart failure, the father and paternal grandfather show adult-onset conduction defects, and the mother has systemic lupus erythematosis. The interaction of heredity and environment is discussed in this context. A review of the literature on familial complete heart block suggests that so-called pure congenital-onset familial heart block, originally felt to be genetic, may in fact have an important enivronmental component, specifically related to ongoing maternal factors such as systemic lupus erythematosis.
