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
00:00
00:00

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.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
43sec home-news-image

Can ventricular septal defect be detected during prenatal screening?

Ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease that can only be diagnosed through an echocardiogram. Routine prenatal screenings cannot detect it. Particularly for newborns, it’s advisable to have an echocardiogram, and for fetuses, a four-dimensional ultrasound is recommended. Sometimes, ultrasound results can only serve as a reference and may not indicate actual problems, but there is also a certain margin of error. If a child has congenital heart disease, it is advisable to have regular echocardiogram check-ups at the hospital. This allows timely identification of the cause, and determination of whether surgery is necessary for treatment, which is the ultimate goal.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
46sec home-news-image

Can ventricular septal defect avoid amniocentesis?

Because ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, it is recommended that patients adopt a light diet and especially avoid spicy and stimulating foods due to the condition of ventricular septal defects. It is still recommended to pursue active and early surgical treatment to improve symptoms. If there is poor cardiac function, or symptoms of palpitations and chest tightness occur, amniocentesis should not be performed as it carries certain risks. However, for milder symptoms that can be timely controlled, amniocentesis and other tests may be considered, but it is also necessary to rule out other diseases. If the patient does not have any special diseases in the past, such as coronary heart disease or diabetes, the procedure can be handled.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
33sec home-news-image

Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause choking on milk?

Ventricular septal defect can lead to choking on milk, as it can cause pathological murmurs in children, especially prominent in the chest area, which is a type of congenital heart disease. Currently, early surgical treatment is recommended for these children. The choking on milk might be due to reasons related to the digestive system, but it is still somewhat related to the ventricular septal defect. It is also advised to eat smaller, more frequent meals to avoid choking or aspiration, which can lead to bronchitis or recurrent respiratory infections.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 28sec home-news-image

Interventricular septal defect X-ray manifestation

X-ray Manifestations of Ventricular Septal Defect. These are mainly related to the size of the defect. If the ventricular septal defect is relatively small, for example less than three millimeters, the amount of blood shunted from the left ventricle to the right ventricular system is minimal. Consequently, right ventricular congestion is not pronounced, making pulmonary congestion also less obvious. At this point, the X-ray may show no significant changes. However, if the defect is larger, greater than three millimeters, for instance five millimeters, a large volume of high-pressure blood from the left ventricle will flow excessively through the defect into the right ventricular system. This leads to significant congestion in the right ventricle and, thus, in the entire pulmonary circulation. Additionally, the X-ray will show a prominent pulmonary artery segment and increased pulmonary blood flow. Moreover, over time, this condition may lead to compensatory enlargement of the left ventricular system. On the X-ray, enlargement of both the right and left ventricles can be observed. Furthermore, due to sustained high pressure, the distal pulmonary arteries may show signs of severe pulmonary vascular disease on the X-ray, resembling a broken book. This indicates that the pulmonary circulation has reached an end-stage condition.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
44sec home-news-image

What will happen in the later stage if a ventricular septal defect is not operated on?

Because a ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, if surgery is not performed, it can sometimes lead to ischemic and hypoxic conditions in patients. During this period, active surgical treatment is still necessary, as this disease primarily relies on surgical intervention. Medical treatment, especially drug therapy, is not very effective, so it is recommended to prioritize immediate treatment with surgical assistance. After surgery, it is still necessary to regularly check the heart with an echocardiogram, as this disease can produce murmurs in the precordial area. Patients may also experience recurring respiratory infections, especially cases of bronchitis and bronchopneumonia.