Just like the atrial chambers (the left atrium and right atrium), the ventricular chambers also have a wall dividing them. The left ventricle and the right ventricle are divided by the ventricular septum and it is this septum that prevents arterial blood from mixing with venous blood.
When arterial blood mixes with venous blood, there are a multitude of potential side effects that could occur to a person as a result of this mixing. First and foremost, the main effect of the mixing the blood together is that the oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood groups will intermingle with each other, creating an imbalance between the blood coming in and leaving the heart. Some of the blood coming into the heart will already be oxygenated and some blood will leave the heart with poor oxygenation. This poorly oxygenated blood will circulate around the body and organs that are very sensitive to changes in blood oxygen levels (such as the Brain) may become damaged if a prolonged period of poor blood oxygenation takes place.
Additionally, there are also blood pressure concerns that can arise from the mixing of arterial and venous blood, not to mention the possibility of chronic pulmonary hypertension problems. These are the kinds of problems that can result from a hole in heart condition, especially if that condition is a ventricular septal defect (a hole in the ventricular septum). In general it is a very undesirable problem to have because of the large number of complications that can result from it.
The Connection to Paxil
In 2005 (especially late 2005 in the September to December month range), a lot of information was revealed about the side effects of Paxil. From the FDA warnings against pregnant women taking Paxil to multiple studies that showed the drug's propensity to cause multiple birth defects, Paxil and all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were deemed dangerous to fetal matter and as such all pregnant women were urged to avoid taking those kinds of drugs.
Amongst the rather large list of birth defects that had been traced to the use of Paxil was ventricular septal defect. In many ways, this defect is worse for infants than it is for adults, because adults by and large, with medical assistance in some cases, have learned to deal with the problems of having a ventricular septal defect. In newborn children, obviously that acclimation is not there and conditions like pulmonary hypertension that result from a ventricular septal defect can be very painful for the child to experience and very stressful for the parent to see.
As with most things relating to the world of drug taking, knowledge and information are a person's best allies. If you are pregnant and suffering from depression, try to seek alternatives to taking SSRI drugs such as Paxil. If you must take these types of drugs, do so only under the supervision of a medical professional and do not under any circumstances take the drug without the permission of one. The list of mothers today that
regret taking Paxil during their pregnancy is vast and many of them feel nothing but sorrow for the painful lives their children now lead.
Robert H Hilley IV http://www.roberthilley.com
Tags:Congenital Heart Defects,Heart Diseases,Ventricular Septal Defects,Paxil
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