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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSigns and symptoms of serious heart defects often appear during the first few days, weeks and months of a child's life.
Signs and symptoms of a large ventricular septal defect in a baby may include:
- A bluish tint to the skin, lips and fingernails (cyanosis)
- Poor eating, failure to thrive
- Fast breathing or breathlessness
- Easy tiring
- Swelling of legs, feet or abdomen
- Rapid heart rate
Although these signs can be caused by other conditions, they may be due to a congenital heart defect.
You and your doctor may not notice signs of a ventricular septal defect at birth. If the defect is small, symptoms may not appear until later in childhood — if ever. Signs and symptoms vary depending on the size of the hole. Your doctor may first suspect a heart defect during a regular checkup while listening to your baby's heart with a stethoscope.
Sometimes a ventricular septal defect isn't detected until a person reaches adulthood and develops signs or symptoms of heart failure, such as shortness of breath.
When to see a doctor
Call your doctor if your baby or child:
- Tires easily when eating or playing
- Is not gaining weight
- Becomes breathless when eating or crying
- Has a bluish tint to his or her skin, especially around the fingernails and lips
- Breathes rapidly or is short of breath
Call your doctor if you develop:
- Shortness of breath when you exert yourself or when you lie down
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Fatigue and weakness
- Swelling (edema) in your legs, ankles and feet
- What are holes in the heart? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/holes/holes_whatare.html. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Ventricular septal defect (VSD). American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11066. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Webb GD, et al. Congenital heart disease. In: Libby P, et al., eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec134&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec166&uniq=152762796&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4106-1. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Dummer KB, et al. Pathophysiology and clinical features of isolated ventricular septal defects in infants and children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- McMackin,CJ, et al. Ventricular septal defect. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/152762796-4/871305879/1701/628.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04134-8..50025-2--subchapter8_13432. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Congenital heart defects. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4565. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Dummer KB, et al. Management of isolated ventricular septal defects in infants and children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 4, 2009.
- Prevention of infective endocarditis: Guidelines from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2007;116:1736.
- Genetic counseling for adults with congenital heart disease. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11083. Accessed Aug. 20, 2009.
