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The Heart and Its Functions

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The heart and its functions
Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is also known called “a hole in the heart.” The defect presents a hole in the wall (septum) that separates the upper chambers of the heart. The hole can be a variety of sizes, and it is possible for the hole to close naturally or through surgical intervention. Many times babies born with this defect do not exhibit signs and symptoms. However larger untreated holes in babies may cause lung and respiratory infections, fatigue during feedings, shortness of breath during activity, a heart murmur, swelling of the extremities and stroke. Larger holes cause the amount of blood being pumped to the lungs to increase, and may lead to unusual heart rhythm and stroke.
In contrast to Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). The hole in VSD is located between the left and right ventricles of the heart as opposed to between the two atriums. This defect will cause oxygenated and deoxygenated blood of the two chambers to mix in the right ventricle causing severe symptoms. Symptoms include fatigue, rapid respiration, dyspnea, poor weight gain, and poor nutritional intake. In contrast to Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) the symptoms exhibited in Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) will start almost immediately after birth rather than later in life.
The mechanical heart requires several essential characteristics. The first is energy transmission, because without a reliable and consistent power supply the device would not be able to pump blood to the body. The mechanical heart must also be able to monitor blood flow so that it can properly regulate the amount of blood pumped throughout the body. The materials used to build the device are also essential. The materials must be light weight and durable.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/AtrialSeptalDefect.html

http://healthcare.utah.edu/cardiovascular/treatments/septal-defect.php

http://www.iop.org/resources/topic/archive/heart/

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