Atrioventricular Canal Defect Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

This is a type of congenital defect in center of the heart, due to a combination of several problems related to the heart. Often associated with Down syndrome, this is also referred to as ‘endocardial cushion effect’ or ‘atrioventricular septal defect’. A heart has two upper and two lower chambers. The upper chambers also called the right and left atria, receive incoming blood. The lower chambers, also called the right and left ventricles, pump blood out of your heart. The valves of the heart are the gates that control the quantity and direction of blood flow. Around 1.5 lakh infants in India are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) and approximately 78,000 of them die because of lack of awareness and improper medical treatment. If not treated at the right time, this could result not only in high blood pressure, but also in heart failure. Generally, it is recommended to operate, to close the hole and reconstruct the valves surgically.

Atrioventricular canal defect occurs when there are problems with the valves of the heart that regulate blood flow and there is a hole between the heart’s chambers. Your heart would, therefore, pump in excess of blood to the lungs, causing over-working of the heart in turn. Due to overwork, the muscles in the heart tend to enlarge. There are two types of atrioventricular canal defect: If the defect is between the two upper chambers, it is called ‘partial atrioventricular canal defect’; If the defect is between all the four chambers, it is called ‘complete atrioventricular canal defect’.