Ventricular septal defect


Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause pulmonary embolism?
Ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease. Currently, early surgical treatment is recommended for this disease, as it can lead to the formation of blood clots and easily cause pulmonary embolism. If pulmonary embolism occurs, this disease is very dangerous and can significantly impact human life. Therefore, early surgical intervention is the main approach. During this period, it is crucial to actively control the patient's blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse changes. At the same time, active and early surgical intervention should be carried out. If the defect area is large, it can also lead to heart failure, especially if murmurs are present in the precordial region, and it can easily cause palpitations, chest tightness, and breathing difficulties.


Is it necessary to perform amniocentesis for a ventricular septal defect?
Ventricular septal defect generally is not hereditary, and its genetic DNA should not be problematic. Therefore, the amniocentesis for patients with ventricular septal defect could potentially be problem-free. Although amniocentesis is not very diagnostic, it is still recommended for older patients or those with high risks of malformations or genetic variations. If there is only concern about a ventricular septal defect, a four-dimensional color Doppler ultrasound can be performed. Particularly after the 22nd week of pregnancy, a four-dimensional cardiac ultrasound can help in identification. However, some very small defects might not be detectable. But typically, a minor, isolated ventricular septal defect might impact heart function but generally does not significantly affect the growth and development of the child.


What should I do if occasional chest tightness and shortness of breath occur due to a ventricular septal defect?
Ventricular septal defect can cause chest tightness and shortness of breath. This indicates that the ventricular septal defect has already led to a decline in cardiac function, which may not have reached the severity of heart failure. However, factors such as increased physical activity, emotional changes, infections, etc., can increase the cardiac burden, leading to symptoms of heart failure, manifesting as chest tightness and shortness of breath. In severe cases, it can be accompanied by wheezing and episodes of respiratory difficulty. Therefore, if a patient is found to have a ventricular septal defect, this is a congenital heart disease that requires early surgical treatment. Currently, percutaneous transcatheter closure or thoracotomy for ventricular septal repair can be employed. The specific method of surgery depends on the detailed assessment of the ventricular septal defect.


Does a ventricular septal defect require open chest surgery?
Ventricular septal defects (VSD) can generally be treated through interventional procedures. Normally, defects with a diameter smaller than 3mm do not require surgical treatment. If the diameter is greater than 3mm but less than 10mm, interventional treatment is often feasible. Another scenario involves the subarterial type of defect, which generally cannot be repaired via a catheter-based approach and requires open-chest surgery instead. Additionally, for very large defects, repair must be conducted through open-chest surgery. Thus, for VSD, there are two main treatment options. Specific decisions require echocardiography to analyze the size and location of the septal defect to determine whether open chest surgery is necessary. Generally, most cases can be resolved through minimally invasive interventional methods.


Ventricular septal defect is prone to complications with which diseases?
Ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, and if a patient frequently experiences this condition, it can easily lead to heart failure. It particularly can cause arrhythmia. If a patient experiences palpitations, chest tightness, or states of ischemia and hypoxia, it needs to be addressed. Currently, the primary treatment for this disease is surgical. Patients should also be encouraged to regularly and frequently have echocardiographic check-ups. If the defect is relatively large, surgical treatment is recommended, and this surgery is also a type of minimally invasive procedure, which has very good outcomes.


What should I do about hypoxia due to a ventricular septal defect?
Mild ventricular septal defects generally do not cause hypoxia. If symptoms of hypoxia recur due to a ventricular septal defect, it is recommended to undergo minimally invasive interventional treatment or surgical treatment at a hospital to prevent further episodes. The success rate of this surgery is very high, almost 100%, with relatively few complications. If hypoxia occurs in untreated ventricular septal defects, initial therapy should include oxygen administration, followed by diuretic, cardiotonic, and other treatments to reduce cardiac load at a hospital, and surgery should be considered as soon as suitable.


Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause hiccups in infants?
The relationship between the two is not very significant. A ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital disease, and currently, surgical treatment is recommended for patients, as medical treatment is not very effective and prone to relapse. For this type of congenital heart disease, it is best to first perform a cardiac echocardiography to make a clear diagnosis. In terms of treatment, early surgical intervention is suggested for patients to thoroughly improve symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, and difficulty in breathing. If an infant often experiences hiccupping, it could be a sign that the infant's stomach is not very mature, leading to excessive stomach acid, but this is not significantly related to the ventricular septal defect.


Ventricular septal defect is what?
Ventricular septal defect is a common congenital heart disease, mainly due to the abnormal defect in the ventricular septum during the fetal development, resulting in an abnormal channel between the left and right ventricles. Ventricular septal defect can cause blood to shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle, gradually increasing the blood flow in the pulmonary circulation, leading to an increase in the volume load of the left and right ventricles, while causing a decrease in the systemic circulation volume. In the later stages, due to the significant increase in right ventricular pressure, it leads to right-to-left shunting, thereby causing Eisenmenger's syndrome. For ventricular septal defects with a large degree of defect, timely interventional treatment or surgical ventricular septal defect repair is required.


Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause choking on milk?
Ventricular septal defect can lead to choking on milk, as it can cause pathological murmurs in children, especially prominent in the chest area, which is a type of congenital heart disease. Currently, early surgical treatment is recommended for these children. The choking on milk might be due to reasons related to the digestive system, but it is still somewhat related to the ventricular septal defect. It is also advised to eat smaller, more frequent meals to avoid choking or aspiration, which can lead to bronchitis or recurrent respiratory infections.


Is ventricular septal defect related to premature birth?
Generally, premature birth is not related to ventricular septal defect. Although a premature infant is born early, their heart structure, lungs, and other body structures are normal. Ventricular septal defect is often caused by a developmental disorder of the septum during the fetal period, manifesting as left-to-right or right-to-left shunting. Generally, patients with a simple ventricular septal defect can survive normally. They can be completely cured through interventional treatment or surgical surgery, so there is no need to worry excessively. There is no direct connection between ventricular septal defect and premature birth.