Question 1

why does right to left shunting happen?

Accepted Answer

A hole in the heart: It is literally a hole in the heart. Normally the right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs to get the oxygen where as the left side of the heart pumps blood to the body. A right to left shunt can cause some of the blood to bypass the lungs and not carry as much oxygen as it should.

Question 2

is a small interatrial septal aneurysm with right to left shunting always patched?

Accepted Answer

Depends: The opening can lead to blood clots from the leg veins go to the right heart, then the left heart and then to brain, causing a stroke. It makes to have it closed. Some experts recommend closure after the first stroke to prevent more strokes. However, it makes sense to have closure to prevent the first stroke. Maybe you never get a leg vein clot? Discuss with your doc.

Question 3

atrial septum defects: right to left shunt, what is all this?

Accepted Answer

ASD: Usually with an atrial septal defect the blood flow or shunt goes from left to right, however, in some situations when there is pulmonary hypertension the shunting goes from right to left.  The problem with that is it causes some of the blood to bypass the lungs and not get the oxygen needed to bring to the tissues.

Question 4

i have a right to left shunt, a nuclear stress test shows a basal inferioseptal defect as well with a 86% ef. they told me thats normal...is that true?

Accepted Answer

EF is normal: Basal inferosep[tal defect is not normal.

Everything depends on your symptoms.

Discuss with your cardiologist &amp; ask him to explain in detail.

Question 5

why does intracardiac right to left shunting occur? since the left side of heart has higher pressure, how can blood from right side flow through?

Accepted Answer

Shunt: Good observation....We see right to left shunting when the right sided pressure is higher than the left side and a connection is present between the circulations. This is when pulmonary hypertension is present. There are various causes of pulmonary hypertension including late changes in the lung from left to right shunting.

Question 6

diagnosis: right to left shunt now what? i've been experiencing headaches and memory loss, my np referred me to a neurologist.  results from testing were sent to np. i just left her office with a follow up to see neurologist again but the diagnosis is rig

Accepted Answer

The : The heart has two "sides": the right side pumps blood to the lungs for oxygenation and the left side pumps it to the body.  A right to left shunt is one that sends blood directly from the right side to the left, bypassing the lungs.  This is important fro two reasons: 1) the shunted blood does not have the opportunity to drop off carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen. If the shunt is large, it will reduce the amount of oxygen in your blood and leave you easily winded. 2) the lung, in addition to increasing the oxygen level in the blood, filters out any tiny clots or other particles in the blood. When that filter is missing, there's an increased risk of strokes.

Since you have a right to left shunt, you should probably be on a blood thinner, and you should make sure that any IV lines you have placed are freed of all bubbles (the common idea that a few bubbles in a vein will cause damage is not true--unless you have a right to left shunt.

Treatment depends on the size of the shunt and its location.  If it's very small, you may need nothing.  However, if it's big enough to create problems (and it sounds like yours is) then it probably needs to be closed.  If it's in the heart, this is done by a cardiologist using a percutaneous closure device or by a cardiac surgeon using traditional open-heart surgery.  If it is in the arteries of the lung, it is treated by an interventional radiologist using small artery-blocking coils placed via a puncture in the hip area or the neck.

I don't know the joliet area well enough to know who's close by, but you can go to http://doctor-finder.Sirweb.Org/ to find an interventional radiologist in your area.

One other thing: shunts in the lung arteries are associated with a condition called osler-weber-rendu syndrome (also know as hereditary hemorrhagic telangietasia).  You should be evaluated for this condition and, if you have it, your relatives should be evaluated too.  It has a strong family inheritance pattern.

Question 7

how does the pulmonary pressure get high enough in asd to make it a right to left shunt instead of the opposite if its just a small hole?

Accepted Answer

Pulmonary: Hypertension can result from years of increased pulmonary return when the pressure in the right atrium gets higher than left atrium flow direction shifts.

Question 8

danger in right to left heart shunting of blood?

Accepted Answer

It depends on : Severity...Right sided blood is not well oxygenated...If this blood bypasses the lungs it will not get oxygenated.  If severe enough this will cause hypoxia.

Question 9

which is worse left to right shunt or right to left? can the shunting get better?

Accepted Answer

Shunts: Generally speaking, right to left shunts are always worse since the circulated blood from the right side of the heart is venous and thus low in oxygen content.  If venous blood bypasses the lungs and is deposited straight into the left side of the heart, then this blood with low oxygen content is being dumped straight into the arterial circulation, which is supposed to supply the rest of organs.

Question 10

abnormal shunt left to right atrium suggestive small atrial septal defect can this make the shunt also go right to left if so is it dangerous?

Accepted Answer

Pressure gradient: Blood will flow across a hole in the heart from the higher pressure left to the lower pressure right. If the pressure on the right increases it can become higher than the left, then flow will reverse. That is not a good thing. Most ASD are insignificant.

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Doctor answers about:

Right to left shunt

A member asked:

Why does right to left shunting happen?

A member asked:

Is a small interatrial septal aneurysm with right to left shunting always patched?

A member asked:

Atrial septum defects: right to left shunt, what is all this?

A member asked:

I have a right to left shunt, a nuclear stress test shows a basal inferioseptal defect as well with a 86% ef. they told me thats normal...is that true?

A member asked:

Why does intracardiac right to left shunting occur? since the left side of heart has higher pressure, how can blood from right side flow through?

A member asked:

Diagnosis: right to left shunt now what? i've been experiencing headaches and memory loss, my np referred me to a neurologist. results from testing were sent to np. i just left her office with a follow up to see neurologist again but the diagnosis is rig

A member asked:

How does the pulmonary pressure get high enough in asd to make it a right to left shunt instead of the opposite if its just a small hole?

A member asked:

Danger in right to left heart shunting of blood?

A member asked:

Which is worse left to right shunt or right to left? can the shunting get better?

A member asked:

Abnormal shunt left to right atrium suggestive small atrial septal defect can this make the shunt also go right to left if so is it dangerous?

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