Atrial Septal defect is a kind of congenital heart disease. It is a hole in the walls that divides the upper chambers called the atria of the heart. In some cases, that doctors will not be able to notice its presence. Such patients will have trouble after some years or in their adulthood.
If left unnoticed for a long time, it can cause several problems including heart failure, which poses a threat to the patient’s life. There is a chance that the small atrial septal defects will close on their own, but it is better to consult a doctor beforehand to do an ASD surgery. If you are looking for the details of atrial septal defects, then you will be able to get a good idea from this article.
Atrial Septal Defect
Atrial Septal defect is a birth defect inside the heart. When a baby’s heart grows during pregnancy, there will be many holes in the walls of the upper chambers of the heart. In normal conditions, such holes will close during the time of birth or after a short period after birth. But income children the hole or holes does not close creating a passage between the upper chambers. The holes will increase the blood flow to the lungs, and it will eventually damage the blood vessels. The damaged blood vessels will cause many problems such as high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat, stroke, etc. Such conditions can cause heart failure. There is also another kind of heart surgery which is Ventricular septal defect (VSD surgery ) is a type of heart surgery. It’s done to correct a hole between the left and right ventricles of the heart.
Types of Atrial septal defect
- Secundum
If the hole in the middle of the septum in the heart, then it is called Secundum ASD.
- Primum
Primum ASD occurs at the lower part of the atrial septum, near the tricuspid and mitral valves.
- Sinus venosus
The atrial septal defect which occurs at the posterior aspect of the interatrial septum, near the junction of the superior vena cava is called sinus venosus.
- Coronary sinus
Coronary sinus VSD is a defect in the common wall between the coronary sinus (the largest vein) and the left atrium.
Symptoms of Atrial septal defect
An atrial septal defect is not detected by the doctors in many babies, as it will be small and the babies won’t show any symptoms. The signs and symptoms are found when patient reach their adulthood.
The common symptoms include
- Shortness of breath in different situations
- Fatigue
- Heart palpitations-irregular heartbeats
- Swelling of legs
- Feet or abdomen and heart murmurs
- Tiring at the time of taking food
- Stroke
- Frequent respiratory infections
Diagnosis
The atrial septal defect can be diagnose during the pregnancy period or after the baby’s birth. In some cases, the situation arises, where it can only be cure in adulthood.
- Diagnosis made during pregnancy
During the pregnancy period, there is a screening test that will detect any problems with the child’s health condition. Atrial Septal defects can be found during such tests, but it depends on the level of the problem. Small defects may not be notice in screening tests.
- The common method to find the presence of an atrial septal defect is through a murmur. It is a simple method in which the doctor uses the stethoscope to detect the presence of holes. Other methods include an echocardiogram, in which ultrasounds are use to detect the defects. In most of all cases, atrial septal defects can be cured by doing a hole-in heart surgery at the child’s age of 6 months to 3 years. But in some other cases, the patient is diagnose after the age of 40, when the symptoms frequently appear.
Treatments
ASD Closure surgery
- Surgery via cardiac catheterization
In the ASD repair surgery, a catheter is insert through a large blood vessel to close the holes. The catheter will move through the blood vessels and finally reaches the heart’s septum. A small device comes from the catheter which closes the holes in the septum.
- Open heart surgery
In open heart surgery, a patch made of synthetic material or your skin is use to close the hole. The surgeon will complete the whole procedure.
Tips to find the best place for Atrial Septal defect
The best hospitals in India provide treatment for the atrial septal defect at an affordable price. With the availability of medical tourism, anyone across foreign countries like Uganda can visit India for treatment. HBG medical assistance provides all necessary services to get the best treatment for ASD closure surgery in India.
