Ventricular septal defect

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Heart, front view

Heart, section through the middle

Ventricular septal defect

VSD; Interventricular septal defect

• Shortness of breath
• Fast breathing
• Hard breathing
• Paleness
• Failure to gain weight
• Fast heart rate
• Pounding heart
• Sweating while feeding
• Frequent respiratory infections

Listening with a stethoscope usually reveals a heart murmur (the sound of the blood crossing the hole). The loudness of the murmur is related to the size of the defect and amount of blood crossing the defect.

Tests may include:

• Chest x-ray -- looks to see if there is a large heart with fluid in the lungs
• ECG -- shows signs of an enlarged left ventricle
• Echocardiogram -- used to make a definite diagnosis
• Cardiac catheterization (rarely needed, unless there are concerns of high blood pressure in the lungs, in which case surgery to close the defect is generally not recommended)

Review Date: 05/30/2006
Reviewed By: Anne J. L. Chun, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.