What are the types of acyanotic heart disease?
What are the types of acyanotic heart disease?
There are several kinds of acyanotic congenital heart defects:
- Aortic stenosis: The aorta is the main artery that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of the body. The aortic valve sits between the heart and aorta. It opens and closes with each heart cycle to let blood out of the heart and keep blood from leaking back into the heart. When the aortic valve becomes narrowed and doesn’t open well, it’s called aortic stenosis.
- Atrial septal defect: An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall that separates the heart’s two upper chambers, called the atria. Most ASDs don't close on their own. Tiny ASDs can often be left alone, but larger ASDs may require a procedure or heart surgery to close them.
- Atrioventricular septal defect: An atrioventricular septal defect is a hole in the center of the heart, in the wall that separates the upper chambers from the lower chambers. Most people with atrioventricular septal defect have abnormalities of some of their heart valves (the mitral and tricuspid valves) as well. The defect was previously also called an atrioventricular canal defect or an endocardial cushion defect.
- Bicuspid aortic valve: The aortic valve is a one-way passageway between the heart and the aorta. The valve normally has three flaps that open and close to regulate the flow of blood. A bicuspid aortic valve has only two flaps, and sometimes this causes the valve to function abnormally.
- Coarctation of the aorta: With aortic coarctation, the aorta is pinched or narrowed, limiting blood flow.
- Patent ductus arteriosus: A baby's blood does not need to go through its lungs for oxygen. Your baby gets oxygen from you instead. The ductus arteriosus is a small blood vessel that allows a fetus’ blood to skip the lungs. With patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), the hole doesn’t close when it’s supposed to. Extra blood gets pumped from the aorta to the lung (pulmonary) arteries. PDA happens more often in babies who are born early.
- Pulmonary stenosis: The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs to be oxygenated. The pulmonary valve sits between the right side of the heart and the pulmonary artery. When the pulmonary valve becomes narrowed and doesn’t open well, it's called pulmonary stenosis.
- Ventricular septal defect: A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is like an atrial septal defect, but it’s a hole in the wall that separates the heart’s two lower chambers (the ventricles). VSD is the most common congenital heart defect. Many of these holes can close on their own, but some may require a procedure or a surgery to close them.