Ventricular Septal Defect
Alternate Names : VSD, Endocardial Cushion Defect
What are the signs and symptoms of the disease?
Symptoms associated with a ventricular septal defect depend on the size of the defect and condition of the blood vessels.
A person with small defects may not have any symptoms. If symptoms are present, the person may just have a history of frequent respiratory infections during infancy and childhood. If there is a large defect, symptoms can occur during infancy and childhood. This type of defect may cause frequent respiratory infections, including pneumonia. Many times symptoms do not appear until adolescence or adulthood.
Symptoms of VSD may include:
poor weight gain
failure to thrive, or slow
growth
shortness of breath, especially after exercise
fatigue
excessive sweating
rapid heartbeat
heart murmurs, which are abnormal heart sounds that a healthcare provider can hear with a stethoscope
congestive heart failure
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