With this congenital heart defect, the positions of the pulmonary artery and the aorta are reversed, thus: With pulmonary atresia, problems with valve development prevent the leaflets from opening, therefore, blood cannot flow forward from the right ventricle to the lungs. It has 3 leaflets that function like a one-way door, allowing blood to flow forward into the pulmonary artery, but not backward into the right ventricle. Normally, the pulmonary valve is found between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. A congenital defect in which the pulmonary valve or artery are underdeveloped. Extra blood goes from the aorta into the lungs and may lead to 'flooding' of the lungs, rapid breathing, and poor weight gain. This defect occurs when the normal closure of the ductus arteriosus, which is present in all fetuses, does not occur. Some of the problems that cause too much blood to pass through the lungs include the following: This creates a more complex problem that can fall into several of these categories. These defects are a result of underdeveloped chambers of the heart or blockages in blood vessels that prevent the proper amount of blood from traveling to the body to meet its needs.Īgain, in some cases there will be a mix of several heart defects. Problems that cause too little blood to travel to the body. The body does not get enough oxygen with these heart problems, and the baby may be cyanotic, or have a blue coloring.

These defects allow blood that has not been to the lungs to pick up oxygen (and, therefore, is oxygen-poor) to travel to the body. Problems that cause too little blood to pass through the lungs. These defects allow oxygen-rich blood that should be traveling to the body to recirculate through the lungs, causing increased pressure and stress in the lungs. Problems that cause too much blood to pass through the lungs. What are the different types of congenital heart defects?Įxperts classify congenital heart defects into several categories to better understand the problems the baby will experience. Other babies will have a combination of defects and require several operations throughout their lives. These defects may simply close up on their own with growth. A baby may even 'grow out' of some of the simpler heart problems, such as patent ductus arteriosus or atrial septal defect. Others will require surgery, sometimes as soon as in the first few hours after birth. Some heart problems can be watched by the baby's doctor and managed with medicines. But, most of the time, there is no clear reason for the heart defectĬongenital heart problems range from simple to complex. Some heart problems are likely to occur if the mother had a disease while pregnant and was taking medicines, such as antiseizure medicines or the acne medicine isotretinoin. Some heart problems do occur more often in families, so there may be a genetic link to some heart defects.

In most cases, no specific cause can be found. Mothers will often wonder if something they did during the pregnancy caused the heart problem. Most congenital heart defects have no known cause. For example, a hole is left where a dividing wall should have formed, or a single blood vessel is left, where 2 should have been. Often, congenital heart defects are a result of one of these steps not happening at the right time. Specific steps must take place for the heart to form correctly. Congenital heart defects happen during this important first 8 weeks of the baby's development. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects.Ī baby's heart starts to develop at conception, but is completely formed by 8 weeks into the pregnancy. This is a problem that occurs as the baby's heart is developing during pregnancy, before the baby is born. According to the American Heart Association, about 9 of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S.

Mashup 1 4 3 fix download problem