Treatment
Most cases do not need treatment and heal at the first years of life. Treatment is either conservative or surgical. Smaller congenital VSDs often close on their own, as the heart grows, and in such cases may be treated conservatively. Some cases may necessitate surgical intervention, i.e. with the following indications:
1. Failure of congestive cardiac failure to respond to medications
2. VSD with pulmonic stenosis
3. Large VSD with pulmonary hypertension
4. VSD with aortic regurgitation
For the surgical procedure, a heart-lung machine is required and a median sternotomy is performed. Percutaneous endovascular procedures are less invasive and can be done on a beating heart, but are only suitable for certain patients. Repair of most VSDs is complicated by the fact that the conducting system of the heart is in the immediate vicinity.
Ventricular septum defect in infants is initially treated medically with cardiac glycosides (e.g., digoxin 10-20mcg/kg per day), loop diuretics (e.g., furosemide 1–3 mg/kg per day) and ACE inhibitors (e.g., captopril 0.5–2 mg/kg per day).
Read more about this topic: Ventricular Septal Defect
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