levo-TGA with Tricuspid Atresia
(See Normal Heart Image for comparison)
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- Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) [septum=wall between the chambers of the heart, atriums=top chambers of the heart] – holes in the inner walls of the heart allowing extra blood flow between the two upper chambers of the heart (atriums).
- Hypoplastic Right Ventricle (HRV) [hypo=under, plasia=formation or development, ventricles=lower chambers of the heart] The right ventricle is under developed. It is too small. This means the heart will have to work harder and won’t last as long. Sometimes the valves entering or leaving the right ventricle are also too small or missing.
- Mitral Valve (m) the valve that controls blood flow between the right atrium and the left ventricle in this heart. (In a normal heart, the mitral valve is located between the left artery and the left ventricle.)
- Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) [patent=open, ductus=duct, arteriosus=artery] – an extra passageway between the pulmonary artery (carrying oxygen-poor blood from the heart to the lungs) and the aorta (carrying oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body). The ductus arteriosus is open in a fetus. This allows extra bloodflow in the forming baby while it’s getting oxygen from Mom instead of its own lungs. The PDA normally closes around 10 days after birth.
- congenitally corrected OR levo-Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) [levo=left, transposition=switch the order, great arteries=the aorta & the pulmonary artery] – the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart) and attached valves (mitral and tricuspid valve) are switched–so the right ventricle is attached to both the aorta and the left artery (via the tricuspid valve) while the left ventricle is attached to the pulmonary artery and the right artery (via the mitral valve). Because the ventricles are switched, the great arteries (aorta, pulmonary artery) are attached the the wrong “pumps.”
- Tricuspid Artesia (TA) [atresia=absence of a normal opening] the valve that controls blood flow between the left atrium and the right ventricle in this heart is missing or fused shut. (In a normal heart, the tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and the right ventricle.)
- Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) [septum=wall between the chambers of the heart, ventricles=lower chambers of the heart] – holes in the inner walls of the heart allowing extra blood flow between the two lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). This causes the oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix before leaving the heart.
