The Long Term Effects of Ventricular Septal Defect

Audrey Johnson

Abstract:
Ventricular Septal Defect, also known as VSD, is a heart defect that occurs in about one-third of one percent of all newborns ('Ventricular Septal Defect,' n.d). This defect involves a hole in the wall between the heart's lower chambers, the left and right ventricles. If a child has VSD, then blood can travel across the defect from the left ventricle back to the right ventricle, a condition known as Eisenmenger syndrome. This causes mixing of the oxygen rich blood in the left ventricle and oxygen poor blood in the right ventricle, resulting in less oxygen rich blood being distributed throughout the body. In addition, blood backs up in the lungs and causes pulmonary hypertension. Over time, if left untreated, this defect can cause damage to the lung's blood vessels and cause the heart to work harder to compensate for the lack of blood flow. In addition, most VSDs are treated through surgical procedures that improve the backflow of blood and hypertension and decrease the risk of heart failure and further damage to the lungs blood vessels. However, the surgical procedures may come with long term effects, such as tricuspid regurgitation, arrhythmias, increase in retrograde flow or a disrupted pattern of ventricular contractility.