CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE

HeartPoint is primarily designed for people interested in heart disease in adults. Since we’ve come on line however, it’s become apparent that there is also a great deal of interest in congenital heart disease, disorders that generally affect children. It is a vast topic, and one that is difficult to generalize about.
Congenital Heart Disease are defects present from birth and effect a little less than 1% of all children. The heart starts in the embryo as a simple pulsatile tube, and must twist and rotate, cavitate, form valves, etc. to form the complex four chambered organ – there are ample opportunities for something to go wrong. It is not surprising that abnormalities can occur, perhaps it is only surprising they occur so infrequently. They may take the form of abnormal holes between the chambers of the heart, incorrect connections between chambers and vessels, valves which don’t open properly, or others.

The causes are difficult to determine and probably different in each case.


The therapy of these disorders is sometimes quite complex, and should be discussed with your physician.

The following is a brief atlas of some of the more common congenital heart conditions. The normal flow in the heart can be reviewed from the HeartPoint Gallery page regarding "The Heart"
©COPY;1997 HeartPoint  Updated November 1997

 

For more about Congenital Disease, also see these related subjects on HeartPoint:

 


| Congenital Heart Disease |  Atrial Septal Defect  |  Coarctation of the Aorta  |   Ebstein's Anomaly  |  Patent Ductus   |  Tetralogy of Fallot  |
|  Transposition of the Great Vessels |  Truncus Arteriosus  |  Ventricular Septal Defect  |



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This site presents material for your information, education and entertainment. We can assume no liability for inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. Above all, material on this site should not take the place of the care you receive from a personal physician. It is simply designed to help in the understanding of the heart and heart disease, and not as a diagnostic or therapeutic aid. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues. Please feel free to browse the site and download material for personal and non-commercial use. You may not however distribute, modify, transmit or reuse any of these materials for public or commercial use. You should assume that all contents of the site are copyrighted. ©COPY;1997 HeartPoint