Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Atrial Septal Defect

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Atrial Septal Defect

Alexandra M. Menillo et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of the most common types of congenital heart defects, affecting about 25% of children (see Image. Atrial Septal Defect). An ASD occurs when the communication between the right and left atria persists after birth. The condition involves defects in the true septal membrane and other abnormalities that enable communication between the atria. From most to least frequent, the 5 types of ASD are the patent foramen ovale (PFO) and the ostium secundum, ostium primum, sinus venosus, and coronary sinus defects. Small ASDs often close spontaneously during childhood. Larger defects that fail to close may require percutaneous or surgical intervention to prevent complications such as stroke, dysrhythmias, and pulmonary hypertension.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Alexandra Menillo declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Mohamed Alahmadi declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Anthony Pearson-Shaver declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Meissner I, Whisnant JP, Khandheria BK, Spittell PC, O'Fallon WM, Pascoe RD, Enriquez-Sarano M, Seward JB, Covalt JL, Sicks JD, Wiebers DO. Prevalence of potential risk factors for stroke assessed by transesophageal echocardiography and carotid ultrasonography: the SPARC study. Stroke Prevention: Assessment of Risk in a Community. Mayo Clin Proc. 1999 Sep;74(9):862-9. - PubMed
    1. Celermajer DS. Atrial septal defects: even simple congenital heart diseases can be complicated. Eur Heart J. 2018 Mar 21;39(12):999-1001. - PubMed
    1. Aoki H, Horie M. Electrical disorders in atrial septal defect: genetics and heritability. J Thorac Dis. 2018 Sep;10(Suppl 24):S2848-S2853. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Torres AJ. Hemodynamic assessment of atrial septal defects. J Thorac Dis. 2018 Sep;10(Suppl 24):S2882-S2889. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chelu RG, Horowitz M, Sucha D, Kardys I, Ingremeau D, Vasanawala S, Nieman K, Paul JF, Hsiao A. Evaluation of atrial septal defects with 4D flow MRI-multilevel and inter-reader reproducibility for quantification of shunt severity. MAGMA. 2019 Apr;32(2):269-279. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources