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Types of Heart Defects

Learn more about specific heart defects.

ACHA Q&As provide understandable information in a simple format. The defects listed below are generally the most common. If you were diagnosed with a heart defect not on this list, we recommend speaking with your ACHD specialist.

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In This Section

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)

Atrial Septal Defect

The heart has four chambers: two receiving chambers called right and left atria and two pumping chambers called right and left ventricles. The atrial septum is the wall that...

Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV)

Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV)

The aortic valve is the valve in the heart that allows blood to flow from the heart to the aorta, which is the blood vessel that brings the oxygen-rich blood to the body. It...

Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (CCTGA)*

CCTGA

*Please note: This article is directed to those who have not undergone a double-switch repair. Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) is a rare heart...

Coarctation of the Aorta

Coarctation of the Aorta

People with coarctation of the aorta are born with an aorta that is too narrow. The aorta is the longest blood vessel in the body. Blood is pumped from the left ventricle into...

Ebstein’s Anomaly

Ebstein’s Anomaly

Ebstein’s anomaly is a rare congenital heart defect affecting the tricuspid valve on the right side of the heart. It occurs in about one out of every 200,000 infants. This makes...

Eisenmenger Syndrome

Eisenmenger Syndrome

Eisenmenger Syndrome was first described in 1897 by Dr. Victor Eisenmenger.  It occurs as the result of a heart defect in which there is a defect or hole (shunt) between two...

Pulmonary Stenosis

Pulmonary Stenosis

What is pulmonary stenosis? The pulmonary artery carries blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated. It then returns the blood to the heart. Pulmonary stenosis (PS) is an...

Single Ventricle Defects and the Fontan

Single Ventricle Defects and the Fontan

What is a “single ventricle”? A single ventricle is a heart defect in which one lower chamber (ventricle) does not develop. This results in the heart having only one pumping...

Shone Syndrome

Shone Syndrome

What is Shone syndrome? Shone syndrome is a collection of eight left-sided obstructive heart lesions. These affect blood flow to and from the left ventricle, or lower left heart...

Subaortic Stenosis

Subaortic Stenosis

What is subaortic stenosis? Subaortic stenosis is the second most common form of left ventricular outflow obstruction. It occurs when the flow of blood from the heart’s pumping...

Tetralogy of Fallot

Tetralogy of Fallot

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is a complex heart defect. If you have ToF, you are born with four different heart problems: A hole in the wall between your heart’s main pumping...

Transposition of the Great Arteries after Arterial Switch or Rastelli Procedure

Transposition of the Great Arteries after Arterial Switch or Rastelli Procedure

Transposition of the great arteries (TGA or d-TGA) is a complex congenital heart defect. The two main arteries, the pulmonary artery and aorta, are reversed. It is more common...

Transposition of the Great Arteries after Mustard/Senning Repair

Transposition of the Great Arteries after Mustard/Senning Repair

In transposition of the great arteries (TGA), the heart’s two major arteries are reversed. The blue blood entering the heart gets pumped directly out to the body without going...

Truncus Arteriosus

Truncus Arteriosus

What is Truncus Arteriosus? Truncus arteriosus is a rare, complex form of congenital heart disease (CHD), accounting for about 1 percent of CHD. It is slightly more common in...

Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

Ventricular Septal Defect

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole in the wall between the two ventricles and the most common heart birth defect. Access educational resources about ventricular septal defect (VSD) causes, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, pregnancy and more.