Question

What would the heart have to do to compensate for a hole between the two ventricles?

Answer 1

Generally deoxygenated blood transfer from the right atrium to right ventricle followed by lungs to absorb oxygen. Than oxygenated blood from lungs transfers from the left atrium to the left ventricle, from where oxygenated blood is transported to the different part of the body. Hole present between the two ventricles wall, called a ventricular septal wall allows the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood that is present in right ventricle which back circulated in lungs and this heart defect is referred as a ventricular septal defect. This flowing of blood through hole produce an extra noise called as a heart murmur. To compensate this defect both, right and left ventricle works harder, for pumping a greater amount of blood than they usually do but in long term it causes heart failure as left ventricle stop working.

To treat this defect, open-heart surgery is recommended in which hole is closed by placing a plug in the hole. Some clinical trials are utilizing a catheter to put the fix or connect to the hole. A catheter is a long, thin tube that aides into the heart through a vein.