Atrial septal defect is a congenital heart defect, meaning a defect present at birth. A hole between the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, allows blood from the left atrium to flow into the right side of the heart and to the lungs. The...
Atrial septal defect, sometimes called ASD, is the third most common congenital heart defect, notes the Cleveland Clinic. Two types of ASD exist: patent foramen ovale, where the opening infants have at birth between the top chambers of the heart...
Some children are born with a small hole in their hearts, known as atrial septal defects, or ASDs, according to Mayo Clinic. The hole occurs in the muscle wall between the two upper chambers of the heart. If a child has a small ASD, it may close...
Atrial septal defect is categorized as a congenital heart defect and commonly referred to as a "hole in the heart," states Kids Health. Atrial septal defect occurs as an opening between the two upper chambers of the heart, the atria. This defect...
An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a persistent communication between the upper chambers of the heart. It is present in about one to two percent of the population. The defect results when tissue fails to form correctly between the atria. An ASD...
According to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center--a nonprofit academic medical center in Los Angeles, California--heart conditions may result from structural disorders, disorders of the heart's electrical signals, cardiac muscle problems or blood...
According to the American Heart Association, every year about 36,000 children are born with heart disease in the United States. These conditions, which are referred to as "congenital" defects, meaning present at birth, usually involve the...
As medicine has improved and new conditions have been discovered, there's been a great demand for doctors who specialize in these conditions. The field with perhaps the greatest demand is the field of cardiology. Gone are the days of being...
Infant heart problems, often presenting as congenital heart defects, are anatomical abnormalities caused by the defective growth of the heart during fetal development. Septal defects, misplacement of the major vessels, single ventricles and...
Newborn heart problems are more common than you would expect. According to the American Heart Association, nine out of every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with a congenital heart defect. Although most congenital heart defects are...
Genetic diseases of the heart are those that are caused by a mutation in one or more genes that affect the structure or function of the heart muscle. Many of these diseases are rare, inherited only when one or both parents pass down the affected...
Congenital heart disease refers to problems in the structure and function of the heart because of abnormal heart development before birth. The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that congenital heart disease is the most common type of birth...
Some children are born with heart problems, known as congenital heart disease. They occur as a result of malformation of the heart during development in the womb. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics reports that the most common types of...
"Congenital heart disease" is a broad term that describes any defect or malformation of the heart that is present at birth. Heart defects are the most common type of major birth defect, according to Medline Plus. Such a defect may be present in...
Cardiac abnormalities have many causes including structural defects, electrical conduction problems, and infectious processes. Although some cardiac abnormalities can occur at any time of life, many are present at birth. The American Heart...
Many different kinds of cardiac disorders occur in children, but they can be classified into two main groups, according to The Children's Hospital-Denver. In congenital disorders, the child was born with the problem. In acquired disorders, the...
According to the March of Dimes, fetal alcohol poisoning or fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the most common reasons for mental retardation. Between 1000 and 6000 babies are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome, FAS. The March of Dimes notes...
The heart can be described as the muscle pump of the body. A congenital heart problem can arise when there is abnormal heart development that happens in utero, before birth. The American Heart Association (AHA) states that annually approximately...
Consuming alcohol during pregnancy my lead to fetal alcohol syndrome. During pregnancy, alcohol interferes with the delivery of oxygen and nutrition to your babies developing brain, organs and tissues. The defects from alcohol consumed during...
The heart has four chambers that work together to make sure that blood and oxygen is distributed throughout the body. The right side of the heart, which holds the blood that needs oxygen, is separated from the left side with its oxygenated blood....
A heart pacemaker is a small battery-operated device that detects and corrects slow, irregular heartbeats and delays in the normal flow of electrical impulses within the heart. According to a 1995 article in "Public Health Reports," approximately...
Eight out of every 1,000 infants is born with a congenital cardiac disease, according to Henry Sondheimer, M.D., professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. One way to classify these diseases is by whether or not...
The first few weeks of fetal development are fraught with peril for the developing embryo. Any disruption or error in fetal development during the weeks when organs and major body systems are forming can result in congenital defects. Maternal...
An echocardiogram is a test that examines the internal structures of the heart. It is a painless procedure, which uses a probe that emits sound waves into the chest. These sound waves are high-frequency and bounce off internal structures, giving...
Congenital cardiovascular defects, or heart conditions, occur in approximately one percent of live births, according to the American Heart Association. If your baby was born with a heart condition, she may have a hole in part of her heart, blood...
Disease type categories include body systems, disease origins and length of duration. Some of the body system categories are cardiovascular, blood, digestive, kidney, lung, liver and skeletal. Disease origins are bacterial, fungal, viral and...
Stroke or "brain attack" is caused by an interruption of blood flow to brain tissue. This can happen when a blood vessel tears or clots in the brain. A tear can cause bleeding or hemorrhage and this type of stoke accounts for approximately...
Congenital heart disease involves one or more structural defects of the heart or blood vessels, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It occurs before birth as a fetus develops. Congenital heart disease affects approximately eight to 10 out of every...
Every year, around 35,000 infants are born with heart defects in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Such malformations result in abnormal blood circulation through the four chambers of the heart and...
