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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffHypoplastic left heart syndrome is a complex and rare heart defect present at birth (congenital). In hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped.
If your baby is born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left side of the heart can't effectively pump blood to the body, so the right side of the heart must pump blood both to the lungs and to the rest of the body.
Medication to prevent closure of the connection (ductus arteriosus) between the right and left sides, followed by either surgery or a heart transplant, is necessary to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome. With advances in care, the outlook for babies born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome is better now than in the past.
- Marshall A. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 27, 2012.
- Facts about hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/HLHS.html. Accessed July 24, 2012.
- Brenner JI, et al. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other left heart disease: Evolution of understanding from population-based analysis to molecular biology and back again — A brief overview. Cardiology in the Young. 2011;21:23.
- Grossfield P, et al. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: New genetic insights. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;53:1072.
- Murtuza B, et al. Changing attitudes to the management of hypoplastic left heart syndrome: A European perspective. Cardiology in the Young. 2011;21:148.
- Said SM, et al. Longer-term issues for young adults with hypoplastic left heart syndrome: Contraception, pregnancy, transition, transfer, counselling, and re-operation. Cardiology in the Young. 2011;21: 93.
- Goldberg CS, et al. Neurodevelopment and quality of life for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome: Current knowns and unknowns. Cardiology in the Young. 2011;21: 88.
- Waltzman M. Initial evaluation of shock in children. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 27, 2012.
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