A Hole in the Heart, is not a literal Hole in the Heart.

It looks like this (this is a comparison between a normal heart and a heart with a hole in):

(picture provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Not like this         :

The “hole in the heart” phrase has been intertwined in my family’s conversations since I was 8 years old.  My cousin, was born with “a hole in her heart”, the actual terminology is ventricular septal defect; this is a birth defect.  All I knew about this defect was that when my cousin was born, she had immediate surgery.  Now, ten years later she still has a five inch scar in the middle of her chest, and she sees a specialist once a year.  Luckily, she is an energetic and healthy (besides this defect) kid.  A couple of years later, I discovered that my sister had the same condition, fortunately hers was minor and no surgery was required.  I always wondered about this defect, and now I have an opportunity to answer my questions.

The American Heart Association reported the following, “ Ventricular Septal Defect is a hole in the wall separating the two lower chambers of the heart. VSD causes blood to travel across the hole from the left ventricle to the right ventricle and out into the lung arteries.  The extra blood being pumped into the lung arteries forces the lungs and heart to work harder and the lungs could become congested.”

VSD affects children by causing  their breathing to speed up, if this is a serious case, then they will become restricted from doing normal things.  My cousin’s condition restricts her from playing competitive sports along with other things.  Luckily, she has a passion for singing and playing music, which VSD does not restrict her from participating in.

This defect is not as uncommon as people believe.  This defect does not change the child physically or mentally; therefore, most people (strangers, friends, neighbors) never know the child has the defect.

But what causes VSD, how does a child get this defect?  The Mayo Clinic claims that “this defect arises from early problems in the heart’s development, but until now they still have not found a cause.  All that is known is during fetal development, the muscular wall (septum) separating the left and right side fails to form between the lower chambers and the heart ventricles.”

The first clinical description  of VSD was described by Roger Eisenmenger in 1879. If this defect has been around for over a hundred years, then why hasn’t science been able to find a cause or a cure?

Technology has progressed over the years, why is no cause found?  While in my cousin’s case, this could be genetic, but how did my sister get it when nobody else in my family had it?

There is a multitude of defects and diseases that science has not been able to completely understand.  But why?