In the case of ASD, there’s a small hole in the membrane dividing the atria – atrial septum. Due to this defect, the oxygenated blood starts leaking from the left atrium to the right atrium leading to reverse blood flow. Because of the leakage, the right atria gets overloaded with the responsibility of sending more blood to the lungs as deoxygenated and oxygenated blood is mixed up.

Symptoms of atrial septum blood:

• Heart murmurs
• Shortness of breath
• Easy fatigue after exercise
• Heart palpitations

Your doctor will prescribe ASD device closure before the symptoms worsen and irreversible. 

There are four types of ASD, such as:

• Primum ASD: The problem starts in the lower side of the atrial septum and can get accompanied by some congenital heart disease.
• Secundrum ASD: In this condition, there’s a hole in the middle of the atrial septum. This one is the most commonly diagnosed ASD.
• Sinus Venous ASD: It is a rare defect that occurs in the upper region of the atrial septum – also accompanied by congenital heart issues.
• Coronary Sinus ASD: Another rare type of ASD in which the left atrium and the wall between the coronary sinus are absent. The coronary sinus is a part of your heart’s vein system.

In the case of VSD, there’s a hole in the ventricular septum that mixes up oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood leading to reverse blood flow from left to right. This further results in your heart pumping excessive blood to the lungs for purification which overloads the heart to supply more oxygenated blood across the body.

The defective hole in the ventricular septum can differ in size and in some rare cases, the wall between the ventricles is completely absent. It means there’s a single ventricle with both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.

Symptoms of ventricular septum defect:

• Easy tiring
• Heart murmurs
• Poor eating
• Shortness of breath
• Not gaining weight easily

In case of a small hole in the ventricular septum, it can be fixed using device closure through heart catheterization.

When a baby is in the mother’s womb, a small duct, called ductus arteriosus, connects the pulmonary artery and aorta. The lungs of a baby start functioning after its born. Pure blood supply to the baby is from the mother through the placental connection.

When a baby is born, the ductus arteriosus closes in a couple of days or in some cases, within a year. If the opening doesn’t close on its own within a year, the pulmonary artery and aorta still have an open connection. The means the oxygenated blood in the aorta is leaked into the pulmonary artery, overloading the lungs to purify excess blood.

The main cause of PDA is still unknown, however, genetics is held responsible to some extent. The defect can be treated by device closure surgery.

The common symptoms noticed in a baby with PDA are:

• Fast breathing
• Bounding pulse
• Shortness of breath
• Not feeding well
• Sweating while feeding

Your cardiologist will diagnose PDA with EKG and Chest X-rays of the baby. For exact results, a contrast dye may also be administered through catheterization.

Coarctoplasty involves the insertion of a balloon-like tool on an end of the catheter and pushed into the vein. The main cause of coarctation is congenital. Initially, a child may not show any symptoms.

At a later stage, children have symptoms such as:

• Breathing difficulties
• Failure to thrive
• Chest pain
• Fainting episodes
• Dizziness
• Abnormal fatigue
• Headaches
• Nosebleeds
• Cold legs and feet
• Leg pain after exercise

If you or your child experience any of the above-mentioned issues, book an appointment with Dr Jagadesh and get a complete diagnostic evaluation followed by the best device closure options for treatment.