Survival. About 97% of babies born with a non-critical CHD are expected to survive to one year of age. About 95% of babies born with a non-critical CHD are expected to survive to 18 years of age.

Conclusions: The vast majority of the patients seemed to live normal lives 20–37 years after Tetralogy of Fallot repair. Late deaths were cardiac in origin, including sudden death from arrhythmias.

Conclusion: For patients < 10 years of age and 10-19 years of age at the time of surgery who were alive after 1 year after the repair of the TOF, excess mortality persisted at least 30 years after surgery and did not vary a great deal with duration of the follow-up.

The American Heart Association (AHA) notes that most people born with heart defects do not need to limit their physical activity.

The hole increases the amount of blood that flows through the lungs. A large, long-standing atrial septal defect can damage your heart and lungs. Surgery or device closure might be necessary to repair atrial septal defects to prevent complications.

There’s no concern that a VSD will get any bigger, though: VSDs may get smaller or close completely without treatment, but they won’t get any bigger. A kid or teen with a small defect that causes no symptoms might simply need to visit a pediatric cardiologist regularly to make sure there are no problems.

A hole in the heart A rupture in the septum, the tissue between the heart’s pumping chambers, will almost always leak blood, further weakening the heart. Within several weeks, the affected heart muscle turns to scar tissue, which can cause heart failure or lead to death.

Severe cases of atrial septal defects may lead to life-threatening complications such as chest pain, irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), abnormal enlargement of the heart, a “fluttering” of the heart (atrial fibrillation), and/or heart failure.

Currently, no treatment has been shown to cure ASD, but several interventions have been developed and studied for use with young children. These interventions may reduce symptoms, improve cognitive ability and daily living skills, and maximize the ability of the child to function and participate in the community [1-6].

Several patients tolerate large unrepaired defects for 80 years or even longer without serious disability. However, it is assumed that, as a rule, atrial septal defect reduces life expectancy, the average age at death not exceeding 50 years.

It takes about 6 weeks for a chest incision to heal. After that, if there are no problems and the doctor say it’s OK, your child should be fully recovered and able to return to normal activities. Heart surgery does leave a permanent scar on the chest.

The repair will take about 2 hours. The healthcare provider will insert a small, flexible tube (catheter) into an artery in the groin. This tube will have a small device inside it. The healthcare provider will thread the tube through the blood vessel all the way to the atrial septum.

If your ASD is larger than 2 cm, you have a greater risk of problems such as: Right heart enlargement, which leads to heart failure. Abnormal heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, affect 50 to 60 percent of all patients over 40 with an ASD. Stroke.

ASD closure after the age of 40 years no longer appears to affect the frequency of arrhythmia development during follow-up. However, patients benefit from closure at any age, particularly with regard to morbidity (exercise capacity, shortness of breath, right heart failure).

A new study found that some children correctly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at an early age may lose symptoms as they grow older. Further research may help scientists understand this change and point the way to more effective interventions.

Blood returning to the left side of the heart may back up into the lungs, causing pulmonary congestion, and blood returning the right side of the heart may further back up into the body, causing weight gain and fluid retention.

During the surgery, the cardiac surgeon makes an incision (cut) in the chest to reach the ASD. He or she then repairs the defect with a special patch that covers the hole. Your child is placed on a heart-lung bypass machine so that the heart can be opened to do the surgery.

Of atrial septal defects with a diameter of 4 to 5 mm at diagnosis, 56% showed spontaneous closure, 30% regressed to a diameter of 3 mm, and none required surgical closure. Of atrial septal defects with a diameter of 10 mm at diagnosis, none closed spontaneously, whereas 77% required surgical or device closure.

Exercise. Having an atrial septal defect usually doesn’t restrict you from activities or exercise. If you have complications, such as arrhythmias, heart failure or pulmonary hypertension, you might be counseled to avoid some activities or exercises.