Single Ventricle Pathology
Single ventricle pathology occurs when one lower chamber (ventricle) does not develop.
This results in the heart having only one pumping chamber. The result is that the amount of oxygen-rich blood getting to the body is decreased.
Single ventricle heart defects can cause children to become cyanotic (turn a blue color), since a mixture of oxygen-poor (blue) and oxygen-rich (red) blood vessels leaves the heart and goes to the body. Just how much oxygen or how little oxygen depends on the type, location, and severity of the defect. Some children will only be mildly cyanotic, while others won’t have enough oxygen in the blood to meet the body’s needs and will need early treatment.
Single ventricle defects are rare, affecting only about five out of 100,000 newborns. They are also one of the most complex heart problems, usually requiring at least one surgery.
- Tricuspid atresia
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
- Mitral valve atresia (usually associated with HLHS)
- Single left ventricle
- Double inlet left ventricle (DILV)
- Double outlet right ventricle (DORV)
- Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS)
- Ebstein’s anomaly
- Atrioventricular canal defect (AV Canal)
