Atrial Septal Defect

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a heart defect that is present at birth (congenital). As a baby develops in the womb, a wall (called the interatrial septum) forms that divides the upper chamber into a left and right atrium. An abnormal formation of this wall can result in a hole that remains after birth.This defect allows oxygen-rich blood to leak into the oxygen-poor blood chambers in the heart.  The septum is a wall that separates the heart's left and right sides.

The incidence in Brazil is 25,757 new cases/year. In 2010, were reported to System of Live Birth Information of Ministry of Health 1,377 cases of babies with congenital heart disease, representing 5.3% of the estimated for Brazil. In the same period, the most common subtypes were: ventricular septal defect (7,498); atrial septal defect (4,693); persistent ductus arteriosus (2,490); pulmonary stenosis (1,431); tetralogy of Fallot (973); coarctation of the aorta (973); transposition of the great arteries (887); and aortic stenosis 630. The prevalence of congenital heart disease, for the year of 2009, was 675,495 children and adolescents and 552,092 adults.

There are no known medications that can repair the hole.Surgery may also be recommended for an adult who has many or severe symptoms. Surgery involves fixing the hole and may be done through cardiac catheterization or open-heart surgery. After surgery, follow-up care will depend on the size of the defect, person’s age, and whether the person has oTreatment ther birth defects.