 | Congenital heart defect: Encyclopedia - Congenital heart defect
Congenital heart defect
A congenital heart defect is a defect in the structure of the heart and great vessels of the newborn. Most heart defects either obstruct blood flow in the heart or vessels near it or cause blood to flow through the heart in an abnormal pattern. Heart defects are among the most common birth defects, and are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths.
Congenital heart defect - Overview
Congenital heart defects can be broadly categorised into two groups, acyanotic heart defects ('pink' babies) and cyanotic heart defects ('blue' babies). The acyanotic defects may further be divided into obstructive heart defects and shunts.
Congenital heart defect - Epidemiology
Slightly less than 1% of all newborn infants have congenital heart disease. Eight defects are more common than all others and make up 80% of all congenital heart diseases, whereas the remaining 20% consist of many independently infrequent conditions or combinations of several defects. Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is generally considered to be the most common type of malformation, accounting for about 1 / 3 of all congenital heart defects.
The incidence is higher when a parent or a sibling has a heart defect (4-5%), in stillborns (3-4%), abortuses (10-25%), and premature infants (2%).
The number of adults with problems connected to a congenital heart defect is rising and is passing the number of children with congenital heart defects in most western countries. This group is called GUCH patients.
Congenital heart defect - Aetiology
The cause of most congenital heart disease is unknown.
Where a cause is known, it may be of a multifactorial origin and/or a result of genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
Known genetic causes of heart disease includes chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomies 21, 13, and 18, as well as a range of newly recognised genetic point mutations, point deletions and other genetic abnormalities as seen in syndromes such as CATCH 22, familial ASD with heart block, Alagille syndrome, Noonan syndrome, and many more.
Known antenatal environmental factors include maternal infections (Rubella), drugs (alcohol, hydantoin, lithium and thalidomide) and maternal illness (diabetes mellitus, phenylketonuria, and systemic lupus erythematosus).
Congenital heart defect - Defects
- Aortic stenosis
- Atrial septal defect (ASD)
- Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD)
- Coarctation of the aorta (CoA)
- Dextrocardia
- Ebstein's anomaly
- levo-Transposition of the great arteries (l-TGA)
- Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC)
- Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- Pulmonary atresia
- Pulmonary stenosis
- Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF)
- Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC)
- dextro-Transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA)
- Tricuspid atresia
- Truncus arteriosus
- Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and additions are welcome.
Other related archives13, 18, 21, Alagille syndrome, Aortic stenosis, Atrial septal defect, Atrioventricular septal defect, CATCH 22, Coarctation of the aorta, Dextrocardia, Ebstein's anomaly, GUCH, Noonan syndrome, Patent ductus arteriosus, Pulmonary atresia, Pulmonary stenosis, Rubella, Tetralogy of Fallot, Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection, Tricuspid atresia, Truncus arteriosus, Ventricular septal defect, acyanotic heart defects, alcohol, antenatal, birth defects, blood flow, cyanotic heart defects, dextro-Transposition of the great arteries, diabetes mellitus, drugs, flow, great vessels, heart, hydantoin, incomplete list, infections, levo-Transposition of the great arteries, lithium, newborn, phenylketonuria, point deletions, point mutations, predisposition, shunts, systemic lupus erythematosus, thalidomide, trisomies, vessels
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Congenital heart defect", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
