What to do about ventricular septal defect

  Ventricular septal defect is the most common congenital heart disease (excluding aortic valve diastasis), accounting for approximately 20% to 57% of all congenital heart diseases. Most ventricular septal defects are simple, and about 40% of ventricular septal defects are combined with other congenital cardiovascular malformations.  1.Surgical treatment: It is a comprehensive judgment based on symptoms, signs, cardiac function, size and location of the defect, degree of pulmonary hypertension, atrial enlargement, etc. Age and weight are not decisive factors for surgery.  (1) Large ventricular septal defect: newborns or infants with feeding difficulties, recurrent pulmonary infections, congestive heart failure, etc. should be operated as early as possible. Older children who present with blood flow in the pulmonary circulation more than twice the blood flow in the body circulation, obvious heart murmur, X-ray showing pulmonary congestion, and echocardiography showing predominant left-to-right shunt should be operated actively.  (2) Medium-sized ventricular septal defect: If there are symptoms such as recurrent pulmonary infection and developmental delay, and if there is heart enlargement, pulmonary congestion and pulmonary hypertension, surgery should be performed as early as possible.  (3) Small ventricular septal defect: about half of the ventricular septal defects close naturally before the age of 3 years, and the membrane defect is the most common. Once there is heart enlargement, pulmonary congestion, especially when combined with infective endocarditis, active surgery should be performed.  (4) Special cases: inferior pulmonary valve (sub-stem type) defects are prone to complicate aortic prolapse, resulting in incomplete aortic valve closure, and early surgery is advisable. If there is Eisenmenger syndrome, there is no indication for surgery.  2. Internal treatment: Prevention and treatment of infective endocarditis, pulmonary infection and heart failure. Emergency surgery should be considered for patients with severe pulmonary infections that do not improve with strict antimicrobial therapy and for patients with severe heart failure that does not improve with cardiotonic and diuretic therapy.