Hole in the heart...


The most common heart disease is possibly a hole in the heart. A hole in the heart is where there is an opening in the wall (septum) between the chambers of your heart. It may be between the two top chambers (atria) or between the two bottom chambers (ventricles). Babies are born with holes in their hearts due to not developing in the womb normally. There are three types of holes in the heart you can get, there is Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD and Atrioventricular Septal Defect. When I go into the more detailed heart diseases you may hear me repeat these names, this is because as well as more serious heart problems, heart babies may also have holes in their hearts. A hole in the heart is easily treated when it is the only problem a baby has and some holes are so small that they cause no problem, and are left alone. Some holes in small babies may close by themselves: if the cardiologist thinks this is likely, he will not close it immediately, but wait for some time to see if it has closed by itself, by repeating an echo.
Other holes must be closed, either because they are already a problem, or because they will cause a problem in the future. There are two ways to do this.
The first way is via an operation called catheterisation. This is when a cardiologist puts a tube into your leg that goes up towards your heart. He can then put a device through that tube so that it fits into the hole. When it’s in the right place, the device opens like a little umbrella, and blocks the hole. The device stays inside you forever.
This is quite a quick and simple way to solve the problem. However, sometimes this is not possible, because of the size, shape or position of the hole. In these more complicated situations, a surgeon will perform an operation where he puts a patch over the hole directly.
Most patients who have ASD/VSD corrections go on to lead perfectly normal lives. You will be followed-up for a short period, but if everything's OK after a year, you probably won’t need to worry about it ever again. It also doesn't increase the chances of you having any other heart-related issues in the future, but you should take regular exercise and aim for a healthy diet.




*I am not a professional nor do I claim to be. If you are worried about heart disease please seek medical advice. The purpose of my blog is to raise basic awareness of heart disease. *