presentation Flashcards
Slide 1
My presentation is on congenital heart defects, informally known as a hole in the heart. The reason I chose this topic is because I personally thought that the cardiovascular unit was one of the most interesting things we talked about in class and also, I have an aunt who unfortunately was born with this condition and to this day, it drastically affects her quality of life. I’ve always been interested in what specifically happened to her and I never got clear answers. I think this is because since my grandparents are immigrants, they don’t understand English very well, so when they came to America, had my aunt, and she was diagnosed with this, they probably weren’t even sure of what was going on themselves. So, I really wanted to research this topic to be given the answer to a question I’ve had on my mind for forever now.
Atrial septal abnormality
One of the places the hole can be found in is in the upper chambers of the heart, which is called atrial septal abnormality. There are different kinds of atrial septal abnormalities, including: 1. Primum, which develops near the bottom of the septal wall. 2. Secundum, which develops near the middle of the septal wall. 3. Multifenestrated, which consists of several holes in the septal wall. 4. Sinus venosus, which develops near the superior and inferior vena cava.
Ventricular septum abnormality
Another place the hole can be found is within the lower chambers of the heart, which is called ventricular septum abnormality. This also has a few different types including: 1. Muscular, which causes holes in the muscular tissues. 2. Perimembranous, which develops near the middle of the heart. 3. Post-infarction, which develops near the left or right ventricle following a heart attack. 4. Outlet and supracristal, which develops near the aorta or pulmonary arteries.
Genetics
Researchers noticed that this condition can often run in the family, so they believe it to be an inherited condition
Infections
Others believe that if you contract a disease during pregnancy, specifically rubella, this can affect the fetus’s development and lead to them developing congenital heart disease. Something interesting about rubella is that it was eradicated in the U.S. in 2004 thanks to vaccines, but it is still present in some parts of the world which is something to keep in mind while traveling if you’re pregnant.
Medications
Taking certain medications during pregnancy such as lithium, which is used to treat BPD, and isotretinoin, which is used to treat acne, can increase the chance of a fetus developing this condition. Accutane is a popular example of an isotretinoin which is why its packaging clearly warns against users taking the pill if they are pregnant, which I thought was interesting because I had always heard about the harmful effects it can have, but never knew exactly what they were.
Cyanosis
Having a hole in your heart causes your oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix. This puts excess pressure on one side of the heart, leading to cyanosis which results in skin discoloration.
Heart murmurs
Heart murmurs are whooshing sounds the heart makes from rapid or inconsistent movement of blood within our valves.
What are the symptoms?
From what I was told, after my aunt’s surgery, she had to be fed through a tube to limit the amount of stress put onto the heart, since it was in a weakened state. Because of this, her vocal cords were severely damaged and she now has a hard time communicating and can only really mumble. This just goes to show that the symptoms of this disease go beyond what I listed and can have so many effects not even just on the individual, but the family of the individual as well.
