Isolated Dextrocardia

Atrioventricular Canal Defect is an abnormality that causes the mixing of blood. There is a hole in center of heart where the wall between the upper and lower chambers meet. The tricuspid and mitral valves aren’t formed properly and one large valve crosses the defect. The defect lets oxygen rich blood pass to the heart’s right side and mix with deoxygenated blood, then go back to the lungs. Another abnormality is Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), where the walls of the upper chambers of the heart don’t close completely, causing a left to right movement of blood due to the higher pressure. The mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood may cause the right atrium and ventricle to enlarge due to the higher volume of blood.

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease that mainly affects the apex of the heart and does not cause any obstruction. [1] These abnormalities in the heart muscle can cause a wide variety of symptoms. As the heart becomes stiff it increases the pressure in the left ventricle which can push blood back into the lungs, causing shortness of breath in exercise. Chest pain can occur as there is not enough oxygen available to the cardiac muscle due to insufficient blood supply. Palpitations and lightheadedness, along with other conditions can occur as a result of HCM. In addition to these discomforting symptoms, the patient may develop an arrhythmias that often goes unnoticed. An arrhythmia takes place as the electrical conduction of the heart is disturbed by the abnormal scattering of myocytes. The two most common arrhythmias are atrial fibrillation causing palpitations, and ventricular tachycardia that can be life threatening causing sudden death. Both conditions can be controlled with medication. [4]

They may start with a physical exam and listening to the patient’s heart. If an abnormal heartbeat is heard the doctor may recommend an electrocardiogram. This procedure monitors the electrical impulses of the heart to detect irregular heart beat. Chest X-rays may also be used to better evaluate the heart and lungs. There are also many other ways to detect defects such as an echocardiogram, exercise stress test, cardiac catheterization, CT scan, or MRI. Congenital heart disease can be minor or severe, so depending on the case there are many different treatment options. For minor cases medications and regular exams will do. For severe cases, implantable heart devices, catheter procedures, and even open-heart surgery may be needed. In rare cases a heart transplant may be required. Congenital heart disease can affect both children and

Although these interventions may improve immediate survival in the short term, only coronary artery revascularization and cardiac transplantation have been shown to improve long-term survival.” (DeMarco & Chatterjee, 1993)

Syndrome. Approximately half of all infants born with Down’s syndrome have a heart defect. Many of these defects have serious implications”

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome is a very serious birth defect. Studies say, “each year approximately… 640 to 1440 infants in the United States are born with HLHS” (Paediatr Child Health,2). Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, also known as HLHS, is a birth defect where the left ventricle of the heart is either underdeveloped or absent. Today, there are heart surgeries that can help children born with HLHS survive longer and sometimes even live long, happy lives. Though, not all children survive HLHS. Many infants die whilst waiting for a donor heart.

Individuals with this disorder further acquire congenital heart defects. It specifically blocks off the natural blood flow from the lungs and right chamber of the heart and/or causes an anomalous gap in the barrier that divides the heart chambers in two. Another symptom of this disorder are the problems involved in the digestive system. People who have this syndrome are

Systolic heart failure is more common in males, while diastolic heart failure is more common in females. Ejection fraction is decreased in systolic heart failure yet it remains unaffected in diastolic heart failure. Both types of heart failure alter the size of the left ventricle; in systolic heart failure the ventricle increases and in diastolic heart failure the ventricle decreases. Although left ventricular hypertrophy is possible in systolic heart failure, it is probable in diastolic heart failure. Both types of heart failure will present with pulmonary congestion, yet x-ray will reflect that systolic heart failure has cardiomegaly also known as an enlarged, and diastolic heart failure will not. A gallop or vibration sound may be heard in the third heart sound with systolic heart failure, and in the fourth heart sound with diastolic heart failure (McCance et al., 2014, pg.

Condition where the left side of the heart is unable to pump an adequate amount of blood to the body, and can be life-threatening.

Critical Congenital Heart Defects are abnormalities of the heart structure that are present at birth. These occur because of incomplete or abnormal development of the fetus’ heart. These defects can cause severe mortality within the newborn stage (Goldstein, 2013, p.1). Several are known to be linked to genetic disorders such as Down syndrome and others are thought to be linked to environmental factors that women can be exposed to while pregnant. The cause of most CCHD’s is unknown.

Heredity plays a role in atrial septal defect because of gene abnormalities and environmental exposure that heighten the chance of a child inheriting it. Although most ASD occur by chance with no clear cause, scientists are still searching for a reason to why it occurs. Some symptoms of atrial septal defect after birth include recurrent respiratory or lung infections, trouble in breathing, feeling drained when feeding (infants), being out of breath when doing physically intensive activities, missed heartbeats, heart murmurs, swelling of limbs such as feet, legs, or stomach areas, or getting a stroke. Detection can be done during of after the baby is born. During pregnancy, it may be seen during an ultrasound but it usually depends on the size of the hole and its location. In many cases, ASD is not detected until adulthood, in which detection can be done through x-rays or physical examination which is done with a stethoscope to check for heart murmurs. Treatment may not be necessary in most cases of ASD as the hole in the septum closes during childhood but more severe cases will require treatment. Medications can be used to reduce the signs of symptoms and infections as well as aiding the heart to

Stem cells have made significant promise to help people understand and treat a broad range of injuries, diseases, and other health-related issues. This type of treatment has saved the lives of many people with leukemia and can also be used for tissue grafts to treat conditions with the skin, bone and surface of the eye ("Nine Things to Know about Stem Cell Treatments"). Dilated cardiomyopathy (DMC) is a disease characterized by expansion of the left ventricular chamber and it is usually associated with systolic dysfunction. The presentations of the condition include heart failure, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia and as a refractory life-threatening condition which can cause heart failure, transplantation remains the ultimate therapy for

The definition of TOF reads, a type of congenital heart defect. Congenital means that it is present at birth (UMMC, 2013). TOF occurs when there is 4 abnormalities all together. One of the 4 abnormalities is when a massive hole is in the wall of the muscle (septum) that separates the 2 bottom pumping cambers (ventricles) of the heart. The massive hole in the abnormality itself is a VSD. A VSD is known as a Ventricular Septal Defect. Due to the location of the VSD, two more abnormalities develop. One being that there is a vast blood vessel which take the blood to the body (aorta) is pulled toward, and “overrides” the ventricular septum so that it sits over both the left and right ventricles; this is called an overriding aorta (UMMC, 2013). The second abnormality that takes place is that the muscle produces obstruction to the blood flow going out the right across the pulmonary valve. The right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, can be due to obstruction below the valve, at the valve or in the pulmonary arteries as they deliver blood out to the lungs (UMMC, 2013). There is different severities of TOF. The most acute form is known as pulmonary atresia. In patients with pulmonary atresia there is no functional pulmonary valve. The right ventricular outflow obstruction leads to thickening of the

Atrial Septal Defect(ASD) is a very large problem concerning the heart in its overall function. When the heart, being the core of the cardiovascular system, has issues; it effects the rest of the body as a result. The core of the problem resides in the atrial septum. Normally the heart is divided into four separate chambers. But a person with atrial septal defect has an atrial septum that allows the blood from the left side of the heart back into the right side. This results in increased pulmonary blood flow and diastolic overload of the right ventricle. By having this constant left-to-right shunt, it can alter the pulmonary vascular resistance leading to hypertension or even the reversal of the shunt itself.

One symptom is heart murmur. Heart murmur is when your heart makes swishing sound heard in you heart. Other symptoms that are typically known is shortness of breath. This can happen when exercising or doing some kind of body workout. These treatment can be treated by different kinds of things. This disorder can be treated by doing heart surgery or cardiac catheterization. For the surgery they will stitch up the hole with surgical materials or your body’s own tissue. Cardiac catheterization is when they put a flexible tube in your heart to insert a device in the hole to cover it. People who have atrial septal defect face fewer challenges in their daily