is a hole in the heart genetic?

Question

my ex has recently been diagnosed with a hole in the heart he needs further tests but isnt telling me very much info can this be genetically passed onto my 4 kids is it unusual for this condition to go unnoticed for 42 years without causing any sypmtoms, could this come from years of alcohol abuse

Answer 1

It is not known what causes a VSD. A family history of VSD may cause your child to have this problem. VSD may be caused by the mother taking certain medications early in her pregnancy. Or a pregnant woman may have had an infection while her baby's heart was forming. The heart forms during the first trimester of pregnancy. Children with Down's syndrome may be more likely to have a VSD than other children.
As he development of heart takes place in the 1st trimester, most of the drugs, are contraindicated during this period, might be alcohol acts in some way & might be a cause of Hole in heart.
You can have your children screened out by your consulting cardiologist.

Answer 2

Some of the answers are confusing the terms 'genetic' and 'congenital'.
Genetic conditions arise from a problem in the subject's genes- the blue print (or design) from which all cells etc in the body are constructed. These conditions can be passed from one generation to another. Some conditions associated with a 'hole in the heart' are genetic and can therefore be passed from one generation to the next. However, these are generally speaking more severe or more more widespread, with the 'hole in the heart' being one of several problems. Down's syndrome is an example of this.

Congenital means that the condition arises at some stage during development. Congenital conditions can be genetic, but there are other causes such as infection, nutritional disorders, toxin exposure and those causes that are unknown at present.

A 'hole in the heart' is always congenital (present from birth) but is not always genetic (caused by a problem with the genes). It is more often caused by some other factor during development which your children would not necessarily have been exposed to (such as infection).

I don't think that alcohol abuse can cause a 'hole in the heart' but it can leave the individual prone to an infection of the heart tissue around the defect in the heart muscle.

It can easily go unnoticed for 42 years if the individual has had few symptoms to warrant investigation.

There are two main groups of 'hole in the heart'- Atrial Septal Defects and Ventricular septal defects. There are sub-groups within these and these subgroups are again associated with other defects.

This answer is getting more complicated than necessary! I would suggest that you put your concerns to your ex and ask him to discuss it with his doctors- do your children need to be screened? His doctors have the information relevan to his case and can give far more complete answer than any of us here. Failing that, ask your own doctor.

Good luck

Answer 3

Yes it can be genetic. My mother had a hole in the valve in her heart plus a prolapsed mitral valve.My younger sister has a prolapsed mitral valve she was diagnosed at the age of 17 . I found out at the age of 43 because Have been non symptomatic my whole life that I to have a hole in my heart and a prolapsed mitral valve. So yes it is genetic. I started with irregular heart beat and chest pain. I take medications and am doing OK for now. I never drink and never have smoked so it could be just like me. One of those things. I'm not overly obese.Yes it is genetic per three different cardiologists

Answer 4

Yes it is genetic. It is congenital which means he was born with it. It is unusual but not unheard of for it to be picked up at this stage of his life. It may have been very small and gradually become bigger. I cannot say for sure if the alcohol abuse could have contributed to this. It is possible but not definite. I think your children will need to be checked but you must make sure that you discuss this with the heart consultant and that you understand everything about the condition. Ask the consultant about offering checks to the children. Good luck.

Answer 5

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Your definitely right to be concerned. The symptoms you've been experiencing (if it's an ASD) is most likely Eisenmenger's syndrome where if a prolonged, untreated ASD, which is a left to right shunt, becomes a right to left shunt, causing cyanosis. Other symptoms are finger clubbing (test with Schamroth's test) and polycythemia (high red blood cell count), but these aren't definitive for an ASD. Bring these symptoms and your sister's history up to your doctor. There are specific sounds of ASD they teach us in med school, one being a loud S1 (loud 'lub' sound; the first heart sound) and a fixed splitting of the second heart sound. These can be picked up on auscultation, but most likely from someone with a good ear and experience. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I used to date someone with a genetic condition that led to the development of a hole in her heart. The same condition killed her father.

As for when, exactly, it developed...it may have been there since birth but not large enough to cause problems. It hardly matters because the end result doesn't change.

Answer 7

No hole in the heart is not genetic. As far as I can find out the alcohol abuse has nothing to do with it either it's just something you are born with and I think your ex has been lucky that he hasn't had any symptoms

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Discuss this with your doctor and ask for a referral to a cardiologist. The latter may do a Doppler echo cardiogram. Yes, family history is very important, too often minimized by physicians.

Answer 10

As far as I know its not genetic. I have a hole in my heart, but no one in my family does. Though it is odd that it wasn't discovered sooner!