complications

Last reviewed 12/2022

Common:

• arterial pulmonary hypertension
• shunt reversal - Eisenmenger's syndrome

Less common:

• ventricular septal rupture - usually with multiple defects. This accounts for 1-5% of peri-infarction deaths and 12% of all cardiac ruptures.
• infective endocarditis - in children 5-14 years with VSD there is a 2% risk over 10 years; in adults there is 5-7% risk over 10 years
• aortic incompetence - when there is a subarterial VSD. This rare complication is unusual in childhood but some studies have shown that a degree of aortic incompetence occurs in 10% of adult ventricular septal defects