Atrial septal defect

by Wayne Strickland

An atrial septal defect (ASD) - oftentimes known as hole within the heart - is a kind of congenital heart defect where there's an unnatural opening up within the separating wall between the higher filling chambers in the coronary heart (the atria).

Generally ASDs are identified and dealt with properly with few or absolutely no troubles.

To comprehend this particular defect, it very first really helps to evaluate some fundamentals about the way a proper heart commonly operates.ital

The heart has 4 chambers: The 2 lower pumping chambers are known as the ventricles, and the two upper filling chambers are the atria.

In the healthy heart, bloodstream which returns from your body to the right-sided filling chamber (right atrium) is short of fresh air. This blood moves towards the right-sided pumping chamber (right ventricle), and subsequently to the lungs to get oxygen. The blood that is enriched with much needed oxygen comes back to the left atrium, then to the left ventricle. It is then moved out to the body with the aorta, a big blood vessel which carries the blood to the smaller blood vessels in your body. The right and left filling chambers are usually divided by a thin shared wall, called the atrial septum.

Children with an atrial septal defect come with an opening in the wall (septum) between the atria. Because of this, some oxygen rich blood from the left atrium runs through the hole in the septum into the right atrium, where it combines with oxygen-poor blood and boosts the entire quantity of blood that moves toward the lungs. The elevated blood circulation to your lungs creates a swishing sound, termed as a heart murmur. This heart murmur, together with other specific heart sounds which might be detected by a cardiologist, could be indications that a child has an ASD.

ASDs might be found in various places on the atrial septum, and so they might be various sizes. The signs or symptoms and medical care of the defect is dependent upon those factors. In certain rare cases, ASDs are part of more complicated forms of congenital heart disease. It is not clear why, but ASDs are usually more common in girls than in boys.

Treatment options assuming closure is required:

1) Least invasive 30 minute catheterization procedure is done percutaneously (through the skin). The device is attached to a catheter, which is inserted into a vein in the groin and advanced to the heart and through the defect, guided by X-ray and intracardiac echo. As the device is slowly pushed out of the catheter, it opens up to cover each edge of the defect, sealing it closed. Over time, tissue grows over the implant and it becomes part of the heart. This procedure requires patients to be on blood thinners for approximately six months.

What You Should Know About The Symptoms of Heart Problems

by Larry Johnson

The symptoms of heart diseases can be very varied. However, it is important to be aware of what those symptoms are so that you can get medical help right away. Heart problems, when left untreated, can lead to death. In fact, cardiovascular diseases are some of the leading killers in the world today.

Symptoms of Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are very common today. These start out not as problems in the heart itself but on the blood vessels. When some materials block the blood vessels and makes it hard for the blood to pass through then that can cause the more serious problems. The most usual symptoms of these are chest pain, shortness of breath and numbness of weakness in the parts of the body where the affected blood vessels are located. If you feel any of these symptoms then you should seek medical attention right away. People might not get diagnosed that they have cardiovascular problems until it is too late.

Symptoms of Abnormal Heartbeats

Another common heart ailment is having an abnormal heartbeat. This can be signify a congenital disease, which means that a person has had it since birth. Sometimes this kind of condition is not detected right away and a person can reach adulthood without knowing that he has this kind of disease. Symptoms of this condition would include a fluttering feeling in the chest, very fast heartbeat, pain in the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting spells. A person who feels these symptoms should see a doctor right away because this condition can be very serious.

Heart Defects

Another type of condition that a person can be born with is having a defective heart. Normally, this condition becomes evident right after the birth of a child because of its physical symptoms. Symptoms include a grayish or bluish color of the skin, swelling on some parts of the body, shortness of breath especially during feeding time. Sometimes, if the heart defect is not too serious, it might not get diagnosed right away until later in life.

Cardiomyopathy

This is the condition where the muscle tissues of the heart thicken. Initially this condition would have no serious symptoms, but as the condition progresses, the person will start to feel the signs. Symptoms would include getting tired easily, shortness of breath, bloating of the abdomen because of fluid, irregular breathing and dizziness.

Heart Infections

Like other parts of the body, the heart is also prone to infections. When it becomes infected, the person will start to feel a whole range of symptoms. Those symptoms could include, fever, shortness of breath, getting tired easily and dry cough that is very persistent.

Like most other diseases, heart problems are a lot easier to treat during the early stages. This is the reason why early detection is very important. The moment you start feeling any of the symptoms, seek medical help right away.