If you have a hole in heart, then you could be in big trouble. It is called a congenital heart defect and occurs between the chambers of the heart in the tissues that separate the rooms called the septum.
Congential Heart Defect – Hole In Heart
- Congenital heart defects, or septal defects, are relatively common, according to the AHA, or American Heart Association.
- The AHA estimates that approximately 1.3 million people have this type of heart defect.
- These defects can have quite severe side effects.
Symptom
The first and foremost symptom that may be noticed is an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia is when the heart is unable to beat a nice constant rhythm. The heartbeat is erratic and speeds up or slows down at irregular intervals.
The heart can even skip a beat or two. If the heart muscle stretches out due to blood pumping between the chambers then the heart will not ever be the same and cannot recover.
You may be able to tell you to have an arrhythmia just by feeling your heartbeat. If it seems irregular, talk to your doctor about the causes.
Another problem that may arise with a hole in the heart is pulmonary hypertension. Blood is pumped from the right lower ventricle of the heart to the lungs to get oxygen. Then the blood goes back to the heart where it is supposed to be pumped through to the rest of the body.
If there is a septal defect, the blood does not know exactly where to go, and the heart has to work so much harder to get the blood from the wrong chamber to the correct one.
When lousy blood continually mixes with good blood, then the arterial walls start to change, and they get thicker, increasing the pressure of the blood flowing through them. It can be a precursor to congestive heart failure, a very serious condition.
Because the blood is not flowing normally, then the chance for blood clots forming in the heart and traveling to other parts of the body is enormous.
If the blood pools in the right side of the heart and there is a septal defect, the clot can travel through the fault to the left side of the heart and get pumped out to any number of bodily structures, including the brain.
It is called a stroke, also very serious.
When the heart has a hole in it, it has to work a lot harder than a healthy heart. The energy drain on the rest of the body is vast, and there is not much left for the body to have for healthy growth and development.
It is called failure to thrive. Children with this condition do not seem ever to have enough energy to play like the other healthy kids.
Because the heart has to work harder, it gets taxed. Well, these are some taxes that it may not be able to pay for an extended period.
It is called heart failure. If too many arterial changes have occurred because a hole in the heart caused pulmonary hypertension, the heart will eventually fail.
“This article is not to be considered medical advice of any kind and is only
for informational and entertainment purposes. As always, you, the reader,
should consult with your physician or another Licensed Health Professional.”
