Q24: Other congenital malformations of heart

Q24.8: Other specified congenital malformations of heart

The heart is slightly left of center in the chest. The heart pumps blood through the body. All of the areas in the body are supplied with oxygen and nutrients as a result. The heart is composed of a thick muscle layer and a thin membrane in the heart interior. An external sac, the pericardium, surrounds the heart. This sac consists of a tight membrane.

For example, the muscular layer of your heart or the sac surrounding the heart (pericardium) may have changed. Your heart may be positioned differently in the body than it normally would be.

Changes in your heart do not always cause symptoms to develop. However, they may prevent the heart from working properly. This causes a failure to grow as normal during childhood. They can also cause shortness of breath or a build-up of fluid in the body. This sometimes causes the legs to swell up. You might also have chest pain.