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The foramen ovale (from Latin 'oval hole') forms in the late fourth week of gestation, as a small passageway between the septum secundum and the ostium secundum. Initially the atria are separated from one another by the septum primum except for a small opening below the septum, the ostium primum .
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which blood flows between the atria (upper chambers) of the heart.Some flow is a normal condition both pre-birth and immediately post-birth via the foramen ovale; however, when this does not naturally close after birth it is referred to as a patent (open) foramen ovale (PFO).
The timing of surgery depends on the baby's symptoms and size. [8] The procedure involves increasing the size of the pulmonary valve and pulmonary arteries and repairing the ventricular septal defect. [8] In babies who are too small, a temporary surgery may be done with plans for a second surgery when the baby is bigger. [8]
PPHN can range from mild to severe disease. In the most severe form, infants experience severe hypoxemia resulting in cardiac and pulmonary complications. [4] As a result of low oxygen levels, infants with PPHN are at an increased risk of developing complications, such as asphyxia, chronic lung disease, neurodevelopment issues, and death.
In both conditions, the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus (and, when hypoplasia affects the right side of the heart, a patent foramen ovale) is vital to the infant's ability to survive until emergency heart surgery can be performed, since without these pathways blood cannot circulate to the body (or lungs, depending on which side of the ...
Once a baby is born and the lungs begin to fill with air and the blood flow of the heart changes, a tissue flap (somewhat like a trap door) called the septum primum closes the foramen ovale or hole between the two atria and becomes part of the atrial wall.
The fetal heart contains two upper atria and two lower ventricles. It also contains two additional structures, the foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus, that function as shunts for oxygenated blood. [2] The function of these shunts is to bypass the lungs and maintain proper circulation to important fetal tissue.
The most common congenital heart defects (CHDs) which cause shunting are atrial septal defects (ASD), patent foramen ovale (PFO), ventricular septal defects (VSD), and patent ductus arteriosi (PDA). In isolation, these defects may be asymptomatic , or they may produce symptoms which can range from mild to severe, and which can either have an ...