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Atrial septal defect - Symptom

Alternative Names

ASD

Symptoms:

Small-to-moderate-sized defects may produce no symptoms, or not until middle age or later. Symptoms that may occur can include:

Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)
Frequent respiratory infections in children
Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations) in adults
Shortness of breath with activity

Signs and tests:

The doctor may heart abnormal heart sounds when listening to the chest with a stethoscope. A murmur may be heard only in certain body positions, and sometimes a murmur may not be heard at all. The physical exam may also reveal signs of heart failure in some adults.

If the shunt is large, increased blood flow across the tricuspid valve may create an additional murmur when the heart relaxes between beats.

Tests that may done include:

Cardiac catheterization
Chest x-ray
Coronary angiography (for patients over 35 years old)
Doppler study of the heart
ECG
Echocardiography
Heart MRI
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)

Heart, section through the middle

Heart, front view

Atrial septal defect

Reviewed last on: 5/12/2008
Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Webb GD, Smallhorn JF, Therrien J, et al. Congenital heart disease. Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007: chap 61.

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