An atrial septal defect is a birth defect in which there is an opening in the septum between the left and right atria. People with such a defect typically have more than a normal amount of blood in the right atrium. Why does blood flow from left to right across the septum rather than in the opposite direction? The excess of blood can cause hypertension in one circuit. Which one?

To explain: Why does blood always flow from left to right atrium in atrial septal defect people rather than in the opposite direction.

Concept introduction: The atrial septal defect is a congenital condition that is present at birth in which the septum that separates right and left atrium is interrupted by a hole. In many cases, this condition are not complicated as the holes get closed by their own during early childhood but some are very complicated. An individual with atrial septal defect will have a heart in which oxygenated blood in the left atrium will be mixed with deoxygenated blood in the right atrium. Since oxygenated blood pumping out from such person’s heart will not have enough oxygen, they would suffer from difficulty in breathing, fatigue, and loss of normal heart rhythm.

Deoxygenated blood entering the lungs will be oxygenated and it will be carried into the left atrium through a pulmonary circuit. Since blood in the left atrium is oxygenated, it creates a very high pressure and moves to the deoxygenated blood in the right atrium through the hole in the septum...

To explain: Which circuit in a person with atrial septal defect would be at hypertension.

Concept introduction: The atrial septal defect is a congenital condition that is present at birth in which the septum that separates right and left atrium is interrupted by a hole. In many cases, this condition are not complicated as the holes get closed by their own during early childhood but some are very complicated. An individual with atrial septal defect will have a heart in which oxygenated blood in the left atrium will be mixed with deoxygenated blood in the right atrium. Since oxygenated blood pumping out from such person’s heart will not have enough oxygen, they would suffer from difficulty in breathing, fatigue, and loss of normal heart rhythm.