Typically, the right side of your heart moves blood to your lungs, where it picks up oxygen. The blood returns to your heart’s left side, where it’s pumped out to the rest of your body.
An ASD allows oxygen-rich blood in the left atrium to leak into the right atrium. This increases pressure in your heart and lungs and makes the right side of your heart work harder. It can lead to heart failure. Your risk of stroke goes up as well because clots can travel through the hole to the left side of your heart. Once there, they can move to the brain and block your brain’s blood supply.
UW Health offers expert care for ASDs.
Often, children with this defect have no symptoms. Doctors may suspect a problem if they hear a murmur, or abnormal sound, when listening to a child’s heart with a stethoscope. They may confirm an ASD with imaging tools or other heart tests.
If the hole is small, it often closes on its own. A larger hole may need repair.
Doctors may also hear a murmur in adults. If the ASD is large, it can cause several symptoms, including:
Abnormal heart rhythm (including a "flutter")
Fatigue
Rapid breathing
Shortness of breath
Sweating
In women, doctors sometimes discover an ASD during pregnancy. This is a time when a woman’s heart works harder.
We can repair most ASDs using a minimally invasive treatment. We put an IV in your leg and through that we thread a catheter, or a thin flexible tube. We pass a very small umbrella-shaped device through the tube and place it in the hole of your heart. This prevents blood from moving through the opening.
Surgery may be the best treatment for large or less common forms of ASDs. It involves opening your chest while you’re under general anesthesia. Sometimes, we can stitch the hole in your heart to close it. Other times, we must put a patch to close the hole.
At UW Health, we strive to find new and improved ways to prevent, detect and treat heart disease. We also offer clinical trials. They may allow you to be among the first patients to try new tests and treatments. Learn more about our heart and vascular research.
Cardiologists, interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons work as a team. They make sure you get the treatment you need to feel and function your best.
Petros Anagnostopoulos, MD, MBA, FACS
Pediatric Cardiothoracic SurgeryAlexandra Erdmann, MD
Pediatric Cardiovascular MedicineGiorgio Gimelli, MD, FACC
Cardiovascular MedicineJoshua Hermsen, MD
Pediatric Cardiothoracic SurgeryKurt Jacobson, MD
Cardiovascular MedicineLuke Lamers, MD
Pediatric Cardiovascular Medicine
Innovative treatments
At UW Health, we provide a full range of services for conditions affecting your heart and circulatory system. Here, you’ll find expert preventive care, advanced diagnostic tests and innovative treatments.
National organizations rank our program among the best in the country. Our outcomes show that our patients do better when compared to others across the nation.
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