Understanding Your Condition

The heart is a muscle. Its job is to pump blood throughout the body. Blood carries the oxygen and nutrients that body organs need to stay healthy and work properly. 

The heart is divided into four chambers, two on the right and two on the left.

With each heartbeat, the heart sends blood throughout the body. 

To do this, the left and right sides of the heart perform different tasks:

• The right side (coloured blue on the diagram) receives oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it into the lungs where it picks up oxygen
• The left side (coloured red) receives this oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it through the rest of the body 

After delivering the oxygen, the blood returns to the heart and the cycle starts over again.

Find your condition below to learn more about it:

• Aortic Valve Disease
• Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
• Atrio-ventricular Septal Defect (AVSD)
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Cyanotic Congenital Disease
• Hypoplastic right heart syndrome (HRHS)
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
• Mitral Valve Disease
• Persistent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
• Pulmonary Atresia
• Pulmonary Valve Disease
• Single Ventricle Pathology
• Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF)
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)
• Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
• Kawasaki disease
• Rheumatic heart disease

There is no cure for CHD, but treatment options are improving all the time. Most people with CHD go on to live long and normal lives. 

CHD is a life-long condition, which means it needs life-long monitoring.

Treatments vary depending on the type of CHD. Some defects are mild and don't need treatment. Some cases are more complex and may need regular medication or many surgeries. 

Your medical team determines the outlook and best course of treatment for you. Their decisions are always made on an individual basis.

In approximately 80% of cases of congenital heart disease, the cause is unknown. About 20% of cases have a genetic link.

Some cases of acquired heart disease (conditions that develop after birth), can be caused by an illness or infection during childhood. Kawasaki disease and rheumatic heart are examples of childhood-acquired heart conditions.