The Most Common Types of Congenital Heart Defects and How They Can Be Corrected

My friend's third child was born a "blue baby." According to the baby's pediatrician, the infant, a boy, has cyanosis - a condition in which the skin appears purplish or bluish. This condition is caused by a congenital heart defect which allows the two bloodstreams to mingle. Specifically, these refer to the oxygen-poor blood going to the lungs and oxygen-rich blood coming from the lungs going to the different body parts. As a result of this mingling, the amount of oxygen being carried to the tissues is greatly reduced.

The congenital heart defect mentioned in the case described above is called a transposition. In transposition, blood that is freshly supplied with oxygen circulates ineffectually back to the lungs; used blood, on the other hand, goes back to the body tissues without having been oxygenated. The pediatrician explained that the infant's great arteries aren't correctly connected. The exact picture reveals that the baby's aorta and pulmonary artery are attached incorrectly - the former to the right ventricle and the latter to the left ventricle, instead of the other way around. Fortunately according to the pediatrician (though this is rather odd to hear), my friend's baby boy will survive his condition since it was discovered that he has another birth defect. In this particular congenital heart defect, oxygenated blood is allowed to leak into the aorta.

Apart from those previously mentioned, there are other types of congenital heart defects. Some of the most common ones are enumerated below:

1) Atrial septal defect. This is a common defect of the septum, the wall that divides the two sides of the heart. In this condition, there is a hole between the upper two chambers of the heart.

2) Ventricular septal defect. This condition, which accounts for about thirty percent of defects in children, is known to be the most common type of congenital heart defect. A hole between the lower two chambers of the heart exists in this condition.

3) Bicuspid. This is a kind of heart-valve malformation in which the aortic valve may be formed from two leaflets, instead of three.

4) Aortic stenosis. Another kind of heart-valve malformation in which the aortic valve may be constricted.

5) Pulmonary stenosis. The third kind of heart-valve malformation in which the pulmonary valve may be narrowed.

6) Patent ductus. This is common in premature babies. Here, the blood vessel called ductus arteriosus - which connects the aorta and the pulmonary artery, and is special in new-born babies - fails to close on its own. The passageway is left open as a result.

7) Fallot's tetralogy. This is known to be the most usual cause for a blue baby, accounting for approximately ten percent of congenital heart defects in children. This condition involves four related heart malformations: pulmonary stenosis, an unusual thickening of the right ventricle wall, a misplaced aorta, and a ventricular septal defect.

8) Coarctation of the aorta. The aorta, in this condition, is severely narrowed. As such, the blood flow and blood pressure downstream from the narrowing are reduced.

Many of these congenital heart defects can be corrected by surgical procedures. As a matter of fact, some of those that were once considered implacable can now be mended. For the septal defects, for example, a surgeon can close the hole by either sewing it shut or grafting on a patch to seal the opening. For pulmonary or aortic stenosis, the surgeon can open the valve by means of surgery or with the use of a balloon catheter. For patent ductus, the surgeon can tie off and cut the abnormal ductus. For coarctation of the aorta, the surgeon can simply get rid of the constricted portion in the aorta. For Fallot's tetralogy, the surgeon performs three steps: first, he closes the ventricular defect; then, he opens the pulmonary valve; finally, he realigns the aorta. [Read the Original Article]