A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a congenital heart defect in which there is an opening in the interventricular septum — the wall that separates the left and right ventricles. VSDs are the most common congenital heart defect, and they vary in size from tiny, hemodynamically insignificant holes that may close on their own, to large defects that cause significant blood to shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle, overloading the lungs and potentially leading to heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. On echocardiography, a VSD can be directly visualized as a break in the septal wall, and color Doppler shows a jet of blood crossing from left to right through the defect. Spectral Doppler measures the velocity and pressure gradient across the defect. The location, size, and hemodynamic impact of the VSD determine whether observation or surgical repair is needed.
Sonography Term