Cardiac shunt

WikiDoc Resources for Cardiac shunt
Articles
Most recent articles on Cardiac shunt Most cited articles on Cardiac shunt Review articles on Cardiac shunt Articles on Cardiac shunt in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Cardiac shunt Images of Cardiac shunt Photos of Cardiac shunt Podcasts & MP3s on Cardiac shunt Videos on Cardiac shunt
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Cardiac shunt Bandolier on Cardiac shunt TRIP on Cardiac shunt
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Cardiac shunt at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Cardiac shunt Clinical Trials on Cardiac shunt at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Cardiac shunt NICE Guidance on Cardiac shunt NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Cardiac shunt CDC on Cardiac shunt
Books
Books on Cardiac shunt
News
Cardiac shunt in the news Be alerted to news on Cardiac shunt News trends on Cardiac shunt
Commentary
Blogs on Cardiac shunt
Definitions
Definitions of Cardiac shunt
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Cardiac shunt Discussion groups on Cardiac shunt Patient Handouts on Cardiac shunt Directions to Hospitals Treating Cardiac shunt Risk calculators and risk factors for Cardiac shunt
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Cardiac shunt Causes & Risk Factors for Cardiac shunt Diagnostic studies for Cardiac shunt Treatment of Cardiac shunt
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Cardiac shunt
International
Cardiac shunt en Espanol Cardiac shunt en Francais
Business
Cardiac shunt in the Marketplace Patents on Cardiac shunt
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Cardiac shunt

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Cardiac shunts refer to the abnormal flow of blood or mixing of blood between anatomic structures that are ordinarily separated. An example would be mixing of blood between the right atrium and the left atrium in a patient with an atrial septal defect. The direction of flow of the blood may be described as right-to-left, left-to-right or bidirectional, or as systemic-to-pulmonary or pulmonary-to-systemic. The direction may be controlled by left and/or right heart pressure, a biological or artificial valve, or both.

Congenital shunts

The most common congenital heart defects (CHDs) which cause shunting are the atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), and patent foramen ovale (PFO). In isolation, these defects may be asymptomatic, or they may produce symptoms which can range from mild to severe, and which can either be acute or have delayed onset. However, these shunts are often present in combination with other defects; in these cases, they may still be asymptomatic, mild or severe, acute or delayed, but they may also work to counteract the negative symptoms caused by another defect (as with d-Transposition of the great arteries).

Acquired shunts

Biological

Some acquired shunts are modifications of congenital ones: a balloon septostomy can enlarge a foramen ovale (if performed on a newborn), PFO or ASD; or prostaglandin can be administered to a newborn to prevent the ductus arteriosus from closing. Biological tissues may also be used to construct artificial passages.

Mechanical

Mechanical shunts are used in some cases of CHD to control blood flow or blood pressure. One example is the modern version of the Blalock-Taussig shunt.