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•9:14 AM
What is an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) ?
An atrial septal defect (ASD) — sometimes referred to as a hole in the heart — is a type of congenital heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the upper filling chambers of the heart (the atria). In most cases ASDs are diagnosed and treated successfully with few or no complications.
To understand this defect, it first helps to review some basics about the way a healthy heart typically works.
The heart has four chambers: The two lower pumping chambers are called the ventricles, and the two upper filling chambers are the atria.
In a healthy heart, blood that returns from the body to the right-sided filling chamber (right atrium) is low in oxygen. This blood passes to the right-sided pumping chamber (right ventricle), and then to the lungs to receive oxygen. The blood that has been enriched with oxygen returns to the left atrium, and then to the left ventricle. It's then pumped out to the body through the aorta, a large blood vessel that carries the blood to the smaller blood vessels in the body. The right and left filling chambers are separated by a thin shared wall, called the atrial septum.
Kids with an atrial septal defect (ASD) have an opening in the wall (septum) between the atria. As a result, some oxygenated blood from the left atrium flows through the hole in the septum into the right atrium, where it mixes with oxygen-poor blood and increases the total amount of blood that flows toward the lungs. The increased blood flow to the lungs creates creates a swishing sound, known as a heart murmur. This heart murmur, along with other specific heart sounds that can be detected by a cardiologist, may be clues that a child has an ASD.
ASDs can be located in different places on the atrial septum, and they can be different sizes. The symptoms and medical treatment of the defect will depend on those factors. In some rare cases, ASDs are part of more complex types of congenital heart disease. It's not clear why, but ASDs are more common in girls than in boys.
An atrial septal defect (ASD) — sometimes referred to as a hole in the heart — is a type of congenital heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the upper filling chambers of the heart (the atria). In most cases ASDs are diagnosed and treated successfully with few or no complications.
To understand this defect, it first helps to review some basics about the way a healthy heart typically works.
The heart has four chambers: The two lower pumping chambers are called the ventricles, and the two upper filling chambers are the atria.
In a healthy heart, blood that returns from the body to the right-sided filling chamber (right atrium) is low in oxygen. This blood passes to the right-sided pumping chamber (right ventricle), and then to the lungs to receive oxygen. The blood that has been enriched with oxygen returns to the left atrium, and then to the left ventricle. It's then pumped out to the body through the aorta, a large blood vessel that carries the blood to the smaller blood vessels in the body. The right and left filling chambers are separated by a thin shared wall, called the atrial septum.
Kids with an atrial septal defect (ASD) have an opening in the wall (septum) between the atria. As a result, some oxygenated blood from the left atrium flows through the hole in the septum into the right atrium, where it mixes with oxygen-poor blood and increases the total amount of blood that flows toward the lungs. The increased blood flow to the lungs creates creates a swishing sound, known as a heart murmur. This heart murmur, along with other specific heart sounds that can be detected by a cardiologist, may be clues that a child has an ASD.
ASDs can be located in different places on the atrial septum, and they can be different sizes. The symptoms and medical treatment of the defect will depend on those factors. In some rare cases, ASDs are part of more complex types of congenital heart disease. It's not clear why, but ASDs are more common in girls than in boys.
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