Ventricular septal defect refers to a defect in the ventricular septum, the wall dividing the left and right ventricles of the heart.

Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Updated on September 21, 2024
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A normal human heart is divided into four chambers: the left ventricle, right ventricle, left atrium, and right atrium. The circulation in a normal person involves venous blood entering the right atrium, passing through the mitral valve into the right ventricle. The right ventricle then contracts and pumps blood into the lungs. After exchanging gases and becoming oxygenated, the blood turns bright red. It then returns to the left atrium. From the left atrium, blood passes through the mitral valve back into the left ventricle, and then the left ventricle contracts and pumps blood throughout the body. Therefore, there is a thick wall between the normal left and right ventricles, known as the ventricular septum. If due to congenital heart disease or other reasons, a small hole appears in the ventricular septum, it is called a ventricular septal defect. If this defect is large, it necessitates active surgical treatment because if the defect exists, the pressure of the blood flow in the left ventricle is higher, causing a large amount of abnormal blood to enter the right ventricle. This leads to a significant accumulation of blood in the right ventricle, causing the patient to have too much blood in the pulmonary circulation, making the patient prone to recurrent colds and infections. Furthermore, these children may easily develop heart failure and even life-threatening conditions such as infective endocarditis.

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Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
1min 14sec home-news-image

Will being overweight affect the surgery for a ventricular septal defect?

Ventricular septal defect surgery is performed by puncturing the right femoral vein, guiding the catheter into the inferior vena cava, through the atria and ventricles, and reaching the defect via the right ventricle. The occluder can then be delivered through the catheter into the left ventricle, where the umbrella is opened, followed by opening it in the right ventricle; this describes the surgical process. Therefore, generally speaking, the surgical process is not affected in most patients who are obese. However, severe obesity can impact the accuracy of vascular localization during puncture by the surgeon. Secondly, if complications such as anesthesia issues or other emergencies arise during the surgery, severely obese patients may experience a reduced success rate in emergency surgical interventions, hence it is recommended that patients control their weight. Furthermore, severe obesity can exacerbate the cardiac load originally induced by the ventricular septal defect, thus affecting the surgical tolerance in patients whose cardiac function is already compromised by the defect. It is recommended that these patients control their weight.

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Written by Fan Yan Fu
Cardiology
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Can someone with a ventricular septal defect travel by airplane?

Generally, individuals with ventricular septal defects (VSD) with no complications do not display symptoms and are able to travel by airplane. When such defects are at an early stage, where cardiac function has not been significantly impaired and there is left-to-right shunting without heart failure or pulmonary hypertension, flying is generally tolerated. After surgery for a ventricular septal defect, patients usually can fly. However, if the patient with a ventricular septal defect is older and in the advanced stages of the condition, exhibiting clear symptoms of heart failure such as difficulty breathing and chest tightness with significant exertional stress, such patients are unable to lie down and should not fly. Additionally, if there is right-to-left shunting or severe pulmonary hypertension has developed, it is unsafe for them to fly as they could potentially face emergencies during the flight.

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Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
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What would happen if the ventricular septal defect occluder dislodges?

An occluder generally works like two umbrella surfaces clamped over the orifice of the interventricular septal defect, achieving the method whereby tissue blood flow enters from the left side of the septum to the right side. Once an occluder dislodges, it can lead to a dangerous situation, as the occluder has a membrane that can easily get caught on the tendons of the mitral valve, causing severe mitral regurgitation; it can also get stuck at the mitral valve orifice, obstructing the outflow of blood; it may also lead to aortic valve insufficiency; if it gets caught in the major arteries, it can cause arterial embolism, leading to sudden death in the patient. Therefore, the dislodgement of an occluder is a very dangerous phenomenon.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
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Does a ventricular septal defect affect development?

Does a ventricular septal defect affect development? For relatively small ventricular septal defects, such as those under five millimeters, the shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle is minimal, hence patients may not exhibit noticeable symptoms. However, if the defect is larger, for instance, over five millimeters, a large volume of blood will flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricular system. This causes congestion in the right ventricular system and the pulmonary circulation will be flooded with blood. As the saying goes, "flowing water does not rot, nor do door hinges become worm-eaten"; however, when a large amount of blood accumulates in the pulmonary vessels, patients are prone to recurrent respiratory infections and even congestive right heart failure, which then leads to feeding difficulties. Patients feel consistently uncomfortable and have difficulty breathing, so they may be reluctant to eat, especially in young children who need considerable effort to drink milk, which requires some breath-holding. At this time, patients experience feeding difficulties, which equates to developmental delays. Therefore, larger ventricular septal defects can affect a child's development. Small defects, such as those under three millimeters, might not affect development, but larger defects do impact development and thus require timely treatment.

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Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
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Can people with ventricular septal defect swim?

If the patient has a ventricular septal defect, swimming can lead to ischemia and hypoxia, and thus, it is not advisable for the patient to swim. If symptoms such as palpitations or breathing difficulties occur, this can be very dangerous, and I would personally advise against going into the water. It is also crucial to actively treat this congenital heart disease. I suggest that the patient should undergo a cardiac echocardiography at a hospital for a clearer diagnosis. Currently, the treatment mainly focuses on symptomatic treatment, and it is recommended that the patient considers surgical options to alleviate the suffering and improve the condition. During this period, attention should also be paid to a healthy diet, especially avoiding spicy and stimulating foods.