Disorder - Ventricular septal defect

Organ Systems Involved
Cardiovascular

Alternative disorders described within LIDA

Aorticopulmonary septal defect; Atrial septal defect; Cardiac anomaly; Heart defect, congenital; Mitral stenosis; Mitral valve stenosis; Patent ductus arteriosus; Persistent right aortic arch; Persistent truncus arteriosus; Septal defect; Subaortic stenosis; Subvalvular pulmonary stenosis; Supravalvular aortic stenosis; Tricuspid stenosis

Presenting Signs

In this disorder there is a passageway between the two large chambers of the heart, the ventricles. They are normally separated by a wall. As a result, blood bypasses the lungs and does not become oxygenated. This leads to signs of a lack of oxygen to the body, e.g. blue discolouration of skin, difficulty breathing, exercise intolerance, coughing and fainting episodes. When a veterinarian examines an affected cat, there is a loud heart murmur caused by turbulent blood flow between the ventricles. It is most often noticed at the first routine physical examination as a kitten.

Treatment

Medical or surgical. Treatment depends on the size of the defect. Small defects may be treated via dietary sodium restriction and monitoring for congestive heart failure. Pulmonary artery banding is available to prolong life of patients with moderate to large size defects. Surgical repair is possible at a limited number of specialist clinics.

PubMed References
Ventricular septal defect

Contributor
Prue McClenaughan