The most common congenital heart defects Congenital heart defects are heart problems that occur in fetuses before they are born.
These problems may affect the chambers of the heart, valves, or blood vessels. A child may be born with one or several birth defects. Among the many...
The most common congenital heart defects
Congenital heart defects are heart problems that occur in fetuses before they are born. These problems may affect the chambers of the heart, valves, or blood vessels.
A child may be born with one or several birth defects. Among the many birth defects, some are simple and may require little or no medical treatment even during adulthood.
But other types of birth defects can threaten a baby's life, whether it is during the postnatal stage or later in life. Here's a quick look at the most common types of birth defects.
Ventricular septal defect
Sometimes it is called a hole in the heart. This most common congenital heart defect occurs when the muscular wall (septum) separating the heart's lower chambers (right and left ventricles) is incomplete or perforated.
This hole allows oxygen-rich blood to leak from the left ventricle into the right ventricle, instead of being pumped into the aorta and then into the body.
In the right ventricle, oxygen-rich blood mixes with blood that does not have enough oxygen.
A ventricular septal defect can cause heart failure, high blood pressure in the lung (pulmonary hypertension), infection and inflammation of the heart (endocarditis), arrhythmia, and delayed growth.
Small holes can either heal on their own or cause no symptoms or medical problems. As for the larger holes, they require surgical intervention to plug the hole or patch it.
Atrial septal defect
An atrial septal defect is a hole that occurs when the muscular wall (septum) that separates the upper chambers of the heart (the right and left atria) is unable to close properly because there is a hole or opening in it.
This would allow the flow of oxygen-rich blood from the left atrium to the right atrium, where it mixes with blood that does not have enough oxygen.
It should be noted that blood from the left atrium usually flows normally to the left ventricle, then to the aorta, and from there to the rest of the body.
Mild cases do not cause any symptoms and may not require treatment. For larger defects, surgery or cardiac catheterization may be required to repair the hole.
patent ductus arteriosus
Before a baby is born, a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus connects the pulmonary artery (the artery that carries blood to the lungs) with the aorta (the large artery that pumps blood from the heart to the body).
Before the baby is born, the ductus arteriosus allows blood to bypass the lung because the baby gets oxygen through the placenta and umbilical cord.
Normally, the ductus arteriosus closes immediately after the baby is born. But if the ductus arteriosus remains open, the amount of blood that should flow into the body will go to the lung.
This birth defect may cause heart failure or an infection of the heart (endocarditis). For infants, this duct can be closed with medication, and for adults and older children, the patient has surgery to close this duct.
pulmonary valve stenosis
In this case, blood flows from one of the lower chambers of the heart (the right ventricle) to the pulmonary artery slowly as a result of pulmonary valve stenosis.
When there is a narrowing, the right ventricle will have to pump blood more forcefully until it reaches the artery that carries blood to the lungs (pulmonary artery).
This birth defect can occur, along with other birth defects such as thickening of the right ventricular muscle below the valve.
In many cases, pulmonary valve stenosis is mild and does not require treatment. However, because it can cause heart failure, arrhythmias, and enlargement of the right heart chambers, it may be necessary to repair this defect.
In many cases, a balloon (pulmonary valvuloplasty) is used to open and widen the narrowed valve. In other cases, especially for people with other congenital heart defects, the patient may need surgery to replace the diseased valve with an artificial valve.
Aortic valve stenosis
Aortic valve stenosis is a birth defect that narrows or blocks the opening of the aortic valve, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood into the aorta, the main artery that pumps blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
This defect can lead to an enlarged heart, left-sided heart failure, arrhythmias, inflammation of the heart (endocarditis), and fainting.
Treatment includes surgery to repair or replace the valve, or, for young children, the valve may be widened through a surgery called balloon valvuloplasty, in which a balloon-like device expands the valve to allow blood to flow through it normally.
Stenosis of the isthmus of the aorta
It is a narrowing in part of the main artery of the heart (aorta). This narrowing forces the heart to pump more blood until the blood reaches the aorta and then to the rest of the body.
Aortic stenosis can lead to many life-threatening complications, including severe high blood pressure, a swollen aorta that may burst (aortic aneurysm), heart inflammation (endocarditis), cerebral hemorrhage, and stroke.
heart failure, coronary artery disease. It is recommended that this defect be fixed before the age of ten, whether by surgically removing the affected part or by expanding it through a surgery called balloon angioplasty and installing a tube (stent) that helps open the aorta.
Inversion of the great arteries
This birth defect occurs when the sites of the aorta (the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body) and the pulmonary artery that leads to the lung are upturned.
It is worth noting that the term "large arteries" is applied to the aorta and the pulmonary artery together.
In the case of inversion of the great arteries, the aorta exits from the right ventricle instead of the left, and the pulmonary artery exits from the left ventricle instead of the right. This prevents the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to the body.
Unless another birth defect is present - usually a defect in the septum or open ductus arteriosus, which allows oxygen-rich blood to flow into the body, this defect can cause rapid death of the newborn. Surgery to repair this defect should be performed soon after birth.
tetralogy of Fallot
This defect is a combination of four congenital heart defects. These four defects are usually: ventricular septal defect, pulmonary valve stenosis, repositioning of the aorta, and thickening of the right ventricular wall (right ventricular hypertrophy).
These defects usually lead to an insufficient supply of oxygenated blood to the body.
Complications of tetralogy of Fallot include; Cyanosis sometimes called a bluish baby syndrome, where the baby's lips, fingers, and toes are blue in color due to lack of oxygen, malnutrition, inability to exercise, irregular heartbeat, delayed growth, and stroke.
And the child must undergo surgery to repair this defect in the first years of his life.
Ebstein anomaly
This defect affects the tricuspid valve, which controls blood flow between the heart's right atrium (one of the heart's upper chambers) and the right ventricle (one of the heart's lower chambers).
During this defect, the valve is located at a lower-than-normal level in the right ventricle, rather than between the ventricle and the atrium. In this case, the atrium is very small, while the ventricle is very large, and neither of them performs its function properly.
This valve usually allows blood to leak from the ventricle into the atrium. This defect usually occurs along with other congenital heart defects.
Some people may experience symptoms early in life, such as heart failure, and life-threatening arrhythmias.
Others do not have any signs or symptoms until adulthood. This condition can be treated with drugs or by surgical intervention.
Perforation of the canal between the ventricles and atria
In fact, this condition is a combination of defects, which include a large hole in the center of the heart, one common valve, rather than a tricuspid valve, and a separate mitral valve.
This defect, also called atrial ventricular septal defect, can be classified as partial (involving only the upper chambers of the heart) or complete (in which blood flows freely between the four chambers of the heart).
Either way, this defect allows more blood to flow into the lung, causing the heart to enlarge.
This condition usually affects children with Down syndrome. Babies may also have trouble breathing and not growing properly.
Surgery is usually done in infants to close the hole and rebuild the valves.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
In this condition, the left portion of the heart is underdeveloped (hypoplastic), including the aorta, aortic valve, left ventricle, and mitral valve.
As a result, the baby's body does not get enough oxygen. For the first few days after birth, the ductus arteriosus remains open, allowing blood to flow normally.
But when the ductus arteriosus normally closes, signs and symptoms that include cyanosis of the skin due to lack of oxygen, difficulty breathing, and inability to feed and nourish begin to appear.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome can be detected by ultrasound before the baby is born. Treatment options for this life-threatening disease include a heart transplant or a multi-stage surgery that takes place during the first few years of a child's life.
stump artery
This defect occurs when the pulmonary artery, which is usually separated, and the aorta fuse in a large blood vessel (trunk) emerging from the lower chambers of the heart (right and left ventricles).
It should be noted that many people with this defect also suffer from the defect of ventricular septal hypertrophy, which converts the right and left ventricles into one chamber. This allows the red blood rich in oxygen to mix with the blue blood that is not rich in oxygen.
Large amounts of blood may also flow into and flood the lungs, causing difficulty breathing. In addition to causing life-threatening pulmonary hypertension.
Surgery is required to close and patch the septal defect, and to separate the pulmonary arteries from the trunk.