What is Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return?

Also known as: TAPVR

Ordinarily, oxygen-rich blood in the body enters the heart from the lungs  through a series of four veins that feed into the left atrium ( the heart’s left upper chamber )  of the heart. With total anomalous pulmonary venous return, however, these veins from the lungs connect to other veins which eventually drain into the other upper chamber of the heart ( the right atrium ). The result is that the heart overworks and the  body does not get the blood ( and the amount of blood with oxygen )  that it needs. The condition can be quite deadly in many instances.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM