Congenital Heart Disease

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) occurs when there is direct communication between the left and right ventricles. This can be a congenital anomaly or acquired as a complication of a myocardial infarction.

The left circumflex coronary artery arises from the left main coronary artery and supplies the lateral and inferolateral segments of the myocardium.

Transposition of the great vessels is a congenital cardiac anomaly in which the aorta arises from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery arises from the left ventricle.

The tetralogy of Fallot is a rare congenital cyanotic heart condition that consists of the following:

Ebstein’s anomaly is a congenital heart defect in which the tricuspid valve leaflets are abnormally displaced toward the cardiac apex resulting in a small right ventricle and massive enlargement of the right atrium.

Uhl’s anomaly (a.k.a. “Parchment Heart”) is a rare congenital heart condition where the myocytes are absent in the right ventricle which results in right ventricular failure and arrhythmia during infancy.

A Gerbode defect is a congenital anomaly in which an abnormal communication between the left ventricle and the right atrium exists.

Jervell-Lange-Nielsen Syndrome is a genetic condition associated with a prolonged QT interval on the ECG and congenital hearing loss.

Congenital coronary anomalies are quite common and frequently have no clinical consequence. On occasion, a “malignant” anomaly can occur resulting in myocardial ischemia, angina and even sudden cardiac death.

Left atrial enlargement refers to dilation of the left atrium which occurs from multiple disease states that can chronically increase the left atrial pressure.