Heart Condition Saturday: Atrial Septal Defect
April 29, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
This week’s Heart Condition Saturday focuses on atrial septal defect (ASD), a hole in the heart between the two upper chambers called atria. One atrium is reserved for blood going to the lungs to be reoxygenated while the other is for oxygen-rich blood that should be pumped out to the rest of the body.
If there is a defect in the wall separating these two atria, then oxygen rich blood can spill over into the side that is pumped to the lungs. This redundant oxygenation means that some blood is reoxygenated unnecessarily while blood that needs oxygen doesn’t get it efficiently.
Despite this inefficiency, most people do not experience any major symptoms, if any at all, but some do require surgery or medications.
Technorati Tags: heart, atrium, atria, heart defect, atrial septal defect, asd, disease, health, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, cvd, cardio
