Question:
My baby was just diagnosed with a single ventricle. What does this mean?

Answer:
The normal heart has two pumping chambers or ventricles. "Single ventricle" refers to congenital heart defects where one of these chambers is absent or very small, or defects where the partition between the two pumping chambers is missing. These defects are often called hypoplastic left heart or hypoplastic right heart. Hypoplastic left heart includes both aortic and/or mitral atresia (absence of the valves on the left side of the heart). Hypoplastic right heart includes a wide range of defects with a small or absent tricuspid valve or pulmonary valve (the valves on the right side of the heart). In addition, a single ventricle occurs if there is no partition between the two pumping chambers. These defects can result in severe heart failure (not enough blood to the body) or severe cyanosis (not enough blood to the lungs). All of these defects require a common treatment designed to ensure blood flow to both the lungs and the body. Sometimes this requires limiting blood flow to the lungs and creating a new blood vessel to provide blood flow to the body. Other times, operations are required to ensure blood flow goes to the lung arteries. Ultimately, most babies with single ventricle need two or three operations that result in the channeling of blue blood (unoxygenated) to the lungs and red blood (oxygenated) to the body. There are good surgical options for most babies with single ventricle and many children with this condition can do most normal childhood activities. Your pediatric cardiologist can give you the best information on the specifics of your child's condition.