Pediatric VSD

[JessesMom11]

Should all VSD's be closed? My son is 11 and it has just been found.

[grendslori]

I am a bit confused by your post. Pacemakers (my daughter also had one) deal with electrical issues of the heart; heart failure is not an electrical issue, it is a muscle issue. Why do you say that a pacemaker will be needed to prolong your son's life? Are you sure the device you are calling a pacemaker is actually a differnt device used to help the heart muscle itself, to pump? Also, has your son's cardiologist referred him to a Transplant Team? If not, why haven't they done that? Heart failure can be treated; it is chronic in nature, my own daughter is in chronic heart failure. While this has happened to your son at a young age, the hole in his heart may have been the cause, but there is also the possibility that a virus attacked his heart and caused the heart failure. It's odd that he would have gone from 14 until 20 BEFORE having heart failure and having the hole be the cause of the failure. It makes much more sense that he would have been in heart failure at the age of 14 and that would be the cause of them discovering the hole in the first place. I would certainly be asking his doctor about that and the possibility of it being caused by a virus.  You are probably going through a living h***l right now. Just to let you know there is a Pediatric Cardiology Forum for parent support here on MedHelp as well; feel free to our group over there as well. Take care

[lkshkm]

my son was born with a pda which too should close right after birth his didnt and it was not found till he was thirteen he had surgery to close it at 14 hes now 20 and as of last monday we were told he is in massive heart failure and needs a pacemaker too prolong his life his doctor seems to think that it was caused by the pda not being closed for so long. Please see about it my son was due to get married next week now thats on hold along with everything else. I will keep your child in my prayers

[grendslori]

Thank you Ken for the referral.

I was going through some of the posts on this thread and came across your post on here. Ken is absolutely right in what he has written to you. ALL babies are born with a hole
in their heart; that hole is there so that blood can pass between the mother and the unborn child. Babies have a "Functional Heart Murmur" (normal murmur) as a result. Usually, but not always, that hole closes by the time the baby turns 1 year of age. Sometimes it will close during the first 5 years and for some, it never closes. If a patient continues to have the hole, there is the possiblity (POSSIBILITY) that he could develop chronic heart failure, however, this would be extremely rare and by no means, the norm. Patients would have surgery and the issue would disappear. Like I said, most people live normal lives even though they still have a small hole in their heart.

[kenkeith]

May never present a problem. Usually,  if it is a problem it corrected immediately.

I am providing a link to a forum where there members with similar situations that can provide a perspective and some insight into the medical condition. Grendslori has a child and that experience can be helpful for you.  I wish your son well going forward.  Take care,

Ken

[JessesMom11]

Thank you for your help.  Can I expect trouble from the VSD someday?  Just a matter of how much trouble and when?

[kenkeith]

It depends on size and wheher or not there are associated symptoms.  Children who have small VSDs and no symptoms only need occasional followup with a cardiologist.

Hope this helps, and if you have any further questions or comments you are welcome to respond.  Take care, and I wish you son well going forward.

Ken