Charlie’s Diagnosis

OK - so you've had a few days to digest the normal heart structure. Now let's talk about Charlie's heart.

First - the actual diagnosis
Double Inlet Left Ventricle
Ventricular Septal Defect
Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome
Transposition of the Great Arteries
Aortic Hypoplasia
Aortic Stenosis
Coarctation of the Aorta

Trust me when I say - that's a lot to take in....so let's take it a little at a time for the next few days

DOUBLE INLET LEFT VENTRICLE (DILV) - both atriums dump blood into the left ventricle. In a normal heart the atriums dump blood into separate chambers keeping oxygenated blood from the lungs separate from de-oxygenated blood coming back from the body. In Charlie's heart the blood that is coming back to the heart from the lungs and body are mixing together in the left ventricle creating "partially oxygenated" blood that is circulating back out to his body.

VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECT (VSD) - there is a hole between the left and right ventricle that is allowing blood to flow in both directions between the two. In a normal heart the two ventricles have a complete septal wall between them keeping the oxygenated blood from the lungs and the de-oxygenated blood from the body separate.
HYPOPLASTIC RIGHT HEART SYNDROME (HRHS) - this is simply the medical way of saying that the right side of Charlie's heart is underdeveloped. In utero the four chambers of the heart grow as blood flows through them. The DILV creates a situation where there is little blood flow through Charlie's right ventricle (only what is sneaking through the VSD). Therefore the right ventricle never grew to it's proper size.

OK - That's probably more than one can take in via a post. We'll tackle more tomorrow!