What happens if you have an atrial septal defect?
With an ASD, blood does not flow through the heart in the normal way. All of the blood coming back into the left atrium from the lungs does not go into left ventricle as it should. Some of the blood flows through the ASD and into the right atrium. This blood, which has already been to the lungs to get oxygen, returns to the lungs. Because of this, your heart and lungs must work harder to pump more blood. As time passes, the pressure inside the lungs gets too high. When this happens, the blood starts to move through the hole in the other direction. Blood that has not yet received any oxygen from the lungs is sent out to the body. This makes your fingers, toes, and lips turn blue. The right side of the heart cannot keep working so hard and finally begins to fail.
