Cyanotic heart defect

Cyanotic heart defects are a group of heart defects in which the patient appears blue ( cyanosis ) because oxygen-deficient blood bypasses the lungs and flows back directly into the body's circulation . This can be caused by a right-to-left shunt , a bidirectional shunt, or a misalignment of the large arteries.

Historical name also known as blue baby syndrome .

Cyanotic heart defects, which represent around 25% of all heart defects, include:

• Fallot tetralogy
• Tricuspid atresia
• Transposition of the great arteries
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)

Non-cyanotic heart defects

Non-cyanotic heart defects are more common because of the higher number of survivors. In their case, the shunt initially runs from left (oxygenated) to right (non-oxygenated). These are among others:

• Atrial septal defect
• Ventricular septal defect
• Persistent ductus arteriosus (can also cause cyanosis in the late stages)
• Coarctation of the aorta (can lead to cyanosis in some cases)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Elizabeth D. Agabegi, Steven S. Agabegi: Step-Up to Medicine (Step-Up Series) . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Hagerstown, MD 2008, ISBN 978-0-7817-7153-5 .