Q23: Congenital malformations of aortic and mitral valves
Q23.4: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
The heart pumps blood through the body. Inside the heart are 4 chambers. There are 2 heart atria and 2 ventricles. Both heart atria and both ventricles are separated from each other by a partition. Major, important blood vessels branch out of the heart. The main artery (aorta), originating from the left lower chamber (ventricle) of the heart, supplies the whole body with oxygen-rich blood. The right ventricle pumps oxygen-poor blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where the blood is then enriched with oxygen.
Blood cannot flow properly through your left ventricle. This is because the entrance or exit to the left ventricle has become very narrow or even blocked. Your right ventricle is therefore pumping most of the blood both into the lungs and into the body. This blood is a mixture of oxygen-poor and oxygen-rich blood.
This heart defect often results in an inadequate amount of oxygen flowing into the body. This makes the skin appear bluish in color. This often causes rapid breathing and feelings of weakness. The symptoms may appear shortly after birth and can quickly become life-threatening.
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