A normal heart is divided into two sides, the left and the right, separated by a wall known as the septum. The right side of the heart receives blood poor in oxygen and sends it towards the lungs. Replenished with oxygen, the blood returns from the lungs and empties into the left side of the heart, to be pumped to the body. It is the septum that prevents the mixing of blood between the two sides. However, some babies are born with a hole in heart septum, at the upper or lower walls. A hole in the septum dividing the upper left and right heart chambers is known as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and a septum hole of the lower chambers is known as Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).Rising awareness about symptoms of heart attack in men and women may contribute towards lowering the occurrence of heart attacks as well as a hole in heart cases.

In both ASD and VSD, purified blood in the left chamber mixes with oxygen-deficient blood on the right side. A large hole in ASD can cause lungs to overfill with blood and make the heart work harder. The picture attached below helps to diagrammatically explain the structure of the heart and enable you to understand the case of hole in heart better.

What are the causes of hole in heart?

ASD and VSD are congenital heart defects. As per a trusted cardiologist in Mumbai, typical causes of the hole in heart defect are the following:

Genetics:

A child may be at a higher risk of