Patient
Information
Muscular Ventricular Septal Defects
A ventricular septal defect (VSD)
is a hole between the two pumping chambers of the heart. The
result of such a hole is that some of the blood returning from the
lungs, which should be pumped to the body, is instead pumped back
to the lungs. The effects of a VSD depend quite a lot on the type
of VSD, how large the hole is, and whether there are any other
problems with the heart.
The most common type of VSD in
babies is the "muscular VSD". This type of VSD occurs in
the part of the ventricular septum called the “muscular
septum”, hence the name. The
vast majority of these holes are very small and do not
significantly effect the functioning of the heart (to read more
about larger defects, or VSDs in general, see “Ventricular
Septal Defects”. About 90% of muscular ventricular septal
defects close up by themselves over the first year of life, and
many close thereafter. Even
if they never close, however, as long as they are of the usual
tiny variety, they are of no importance to heart function.
Patients with small muscular
ventricular septal defects generally have no restrictions in their
diet or exercise.
For more information about VSDs,
try some of the web links below. I cannot vouch for the contents,
but with the Internet it's always a case of "browser
beware".
American
Heart Association
A good site to see a brief description of the different types
of heart disease and the treatments available
PediHeart
Includes a "Parent's
Place" with information resources.
March
of Dimes
The
Congenital Heart Disease Resource Page
This site is maintained by Sheri Berger, and is a good source
of many links, including the congenital heart disease "link
ring" (a series of sites on a common topic).
The
Children's Heart Society
Specializes in support for families and information.
Mayo
Clinic
Short descriptions of
common CHD's with diagrams.
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