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Start free with EleplanEctopia cordis
ORPHA:448270Morphological anomaly
Also called Extrathoracic heart
What it is
A rare congenital non-syndromic heart malformation characterized by life-threatening complete or partial location of the heart outside the thoracic cavity. The main ectopic positions are thoracic but anterior to the sternum, abdominal, thoracoabdominal, and cervical. Associated abnormalities include sternal, diaphragmatic, pericardial, and abdominal wall defects, as well as intracardiac malformations.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- 1-9 / 1 000 000 (at birth)
- Age of onset
- Antenatal
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Morphological anomaly
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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