Total anomalous pulmonary venous return is a rare congenital heart defect whereby the pulmonary veins carrying the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs do not connect to the left side of the heart.
In total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR/TAPVD), the pulmonary veins do not return to the left atrium. In the “cardiac” type, the pulmonary veins return to the heart to drain into the right upper chamber (right atrium). The only way for blood to get to the left side of the heart is by crossing through a hole (an atrial septal defect or ASD) between the top two chambers (atria) to reach the left side of the heart.
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