Ventricular Septal Defects
A ventricular septal defect is a hole in the wall separating the two lower chambers of the heart. Some of the blood that would normally be pumped out of the heart to the body is shunted from the left side of the heart to the right. VSD's may be present from birth or may be acquired later in life as a complication of a heart attack. Symptoms of VSD include shortness of breath, fatigue and irregular heart beats. If the VSD is the result of a heart attack, the symptoms may be sudden and severe. Surgery involves closure of the hole often including a patch of pericardial tissue or synthetic material.
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