Atrial Septal Defect In a heart with an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) there is communication between the right and left atria which causes a left to right shunting of blood due to the higher pressure in the pulmonary circulatory system. Consequently there is a mixing of oxygenated (systemic) and deoxygenated (pulmonary) blood. Also, the right atrium and ventricle enlarge due to higher volume of blood it must handle. There are two types of ASD: Primum type involves the endocardial cushions. Secundum type involves septum primum or septum secundum. Return to Main Menu .

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Home | Specialties | Resource Centers | Learning Centers | CME | Contributor Recruitment Articles Images CME Advanced Search Consumer HealthLink to this site You are in: eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Cardiovascular Pericarditis and Cardiac Tamponade Last Updated: April 29, 2005 Rate this Article Email to a Colleague Get CME/CE for article Synonyms and related keywords: pericardium, pericardial complex, acute pericardial tampo ...

Endocarditis, Pericarditis & Myocarditis Infective endocarditis is a rare but potentially devastating infection of the native endocardium, hear valves, or blood vessels. As the incidence of rheumatic heart disease has decreased, children with congenital heart disease now constitute the primary patient population at risk for endocarditis. Endocarditis can involve prosthetic heart valves, aortopulmonary shunts, surgical patches, or chronic indwelling catheters. Over the past two decades t ...

Home Heart Attack / Myocardial Infarction The heart is a mechanical, contractile pump responsible for maintaining blood circulation. It is made of specialized muscle called myocardium and weighs about 10 ounces in the average adult, although many factors affect its ultimate size. This muscle is activated by timed electrical impulses from a part of the heart called the sinoatrial node, the natural pacemaker of the heart. Since the heart is constantly active, it requires an uninterrupted ...

Mitral Valve Prolapse: A Patient Guide The most common heart valve abnormality is called Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), which affects between 5 percent and 20 percent of the population. It is more commonly found in women than men and can go undetected for years, as symptoms usually do not occur until adolescence or even adulthood. MVP is most commonly diagnosed among patients between the ages of 20 and 40. What is it? MVP is a condition of the mitral valve, ...

HEART ATTACK (also known as "MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION") HeartPoint animation: this will take approximately 1 minute to load. The proper use of the non-medical term "heart attack" is "Myocardial Infarction". Either term is scary. "Myocardial Infarction" (abbreviated as "MI") means there is death of some of the muscle cells of the heart as a result of a lack of supply of oxygen and other nutrients. This lack of supply is caused by closure of the artery ("coronary artery") that supplies that pa ...

The effect of spironolactone on morbidity and mortality in patients with severe heart failure AuthorsPitt B, Zannad F, Remme W, Cody R, Castaigne A, Perez A, Palensky J, Wittes J, for the Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) investigators. SourceNew England Journal of Medicine 341:709-17. September 2, 1999. InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan (USA); Clinique de Nancy (France); Hopital Henri Mondor (France); STICARES Cardiovascular Research Foundation (Netherlands); Searle Pharmaceut ...

The Heart: An Online Exploration NOW OPEN! From the moment it begins beating until the moment it stops, the human heart works tirelessly. In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than two and a half billion times, without ever pausing to rest. Like a pumping machine, the heart provides the power needed for life. This life-sustaining power has, throughout time, caused an air of mystery to surround the heart. Modern technology has removed much of the mystery, but there is s ...

Understanding the Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome The following is an excerpt from Chapter I of Dr. Scordo’s book, See reviews on Amazon.com “Taking Control: Living with the mitral valve prolapse syndrome.” (To order the book, click on the above link.) ©K.A. SCORDO 1996, 2001, 2005 "I'm only 25 years old. How could I be having a heart attack?" "I was given no explanation other than 'don't worry'." "We would race to the hospital only to be sent home." "I was beginning to beli ...