ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Ventricular septal defect

What is ventricular septal defect?

4 May 2021

This is a congenital heart defect in which there is a gap in the division of the heart’s ventricles, causing oxygenated blood to move from left to right and mix with low-oxygen blood, forcing the heart to pump it to the lungs and not to the entire body, which causes a permanent overexertion of the heart and lungs, causing complications that can become serious.

As with congenital heart disease, the causes of this defect are unknown, but genetics and the environment are considered influential factors. 

It is possible that the ventricular septal defect has different levels of severity and that there are various at the same time in different areas of the heart. 

Although mild ventricular septal defect may not require treatment and may not show symptoms, medium-level or severe ventricular septal defects cause serious symptoms that can endanger the patient’s life if they are not treated promptly, producing significant problems: 

  • Heart complications such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and valve damage. 
  • Heart infections such as endocarditis.
  • Excess blood flowing to the lungs that generates hypertension in those organs.

Signs and symptoms Ventricular septal defect

The symptoms usually appear in the first days, weeks, and months of a child’s life, and may be: 

  • Resistance to feeding leading to malnutrition and slow growth. 
  • Breathing problems such as shortness of breath or rapid breathing rate. 
  • Weakness and fatigue. 

When the defect is very mild, symptoms may not occur until adulthood. If that is the case, and you experience breathing difficulties and fatigue, it is recommended that you see your doctor.

Diagnosis and treatment Ventricular septal defect

This condition usually causes a heart murmur that your doctor detects during physical examination. If that is the case, he or she will request a series of tests to confirm the diagnosis, such as X-rays, electrocardiogram, oximetry, cardiac ultrasound, and cardiac catheterization. 

When the defect is identified at an early age and it is small, medications are usually prescribed to control the symptoms and wait for the defect to correct itself. In severe cases, surgery will be necessary to repair it, whether in children or adults, treating the cardiac complications caused through drugs or other surgeries.

Our Pediatric Heart Center is the only private center in Mexico to treat heart conditions with an exclusive unit for pediatric surgeries.

We have a group of highly trained specialists made up of pediatric cardiologists, echocardiographers, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, pediatric cardiovascular surgeons, pediatric cardiovascular anesthesiologists, pediatric specialists in cardiovascular intensive care, nurses, medical assistants, perfusionists, psychologists, and social workers.

Services:

  • Cardiovascular surgery
  • Interventional cardiology
  • Pediatric echocardiography
  • Fetal echocardiography
  • Pediatric electrophysiology
  • Fetal electrophysiology
  • Cardiovascular intensive care unit
  • Pediatric cardiology clinic
  • Univentricular Heart Program

Related centers and departments Ventricular septal defect

Pediatric Heart Center
Pediatrics Center
High Specialty Surgery Center
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • cardiopatiascongenitas.net
  • mayoclinic.org
  • medlineplus.gov
  • texasheart.org
  • msdmanuals.com
  • medigraphic.com
  • Basave M, Rangel A, Albarrán H, et al. Conducto arterioso persistente gigante asociado con comunicación interventricular y coartación aórtica leve. Informe de un caso. Arch Cardiol Mex. 2001;71(2):146-150.
  • Bustillos MJM, Medina AJ, Sevillano JJA. Cardiopatías congénitas: etiología y clasificación. Finlay. 2020;10(2):73-75.
  • Santacruz SS, Haro AME, Anzaldo CMC, et al. Correlación de diagnósticos ecocardiográficos, angiotomográficos y quirúrgicos en niños con diagnóstico de cardiopatía congénita. Anales de Radiología México. 2019;18(1):12-17.
  • Grados SD, Moreno EEM, Linares VJA, et al. Comunicación interventricular isquémica: diagnóstico inusual mediante tomografía computarizada. CorSalud. 2016;8(4):257-258.
  • Castro-Rodríguez CO, Rodríguez-Hernández L, Estrada-Loza MJ, et al. Factores pronóstico de morbilidad posquirúrgica en pacientes pediátricos con comunicación interventricular aislada. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2015;53(Suppl: 3):324-335.

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