Hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and right heart syndrome are a variety of heart disease syndrome that are congenital conditions (this means it is present at birth instead of developing over the course of someones life), in which either the left or the right structures of the heart are underdeveloped, causing newborn babies to present a some what bluish coloration that can be observed in the chest or abdomen, lips, and in the tongue. This abnormal coloration is due to the fact that adequate levels of oxygen in the blood are not present. It is important to know that in healthy newborns though, a bluish color occurs in hands and feet as a response to a cold environment and is normally called peripheral cyanosis, which is totally harmless.

HRHS, better known as Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, refers to the lack of development of the right sided structures of the heart, including absence of the pulmonary asteria valve which opens and closes to let blood flow to the lungs. Other disturbing secondary problems can include a very small right ventricle in the lower chamber, which is normally in charge of pumping blood to the lungs. A small tricuspid valve can also be a common occurrence which will fail to allow normal blood to flow into the right ventricle of the heart. A small hypoplastic pulmonary artery is also common. In the other hand HLHS refers to the underdevelopment of the left sided structures of the heart which includes the aorta, left ventricle aortic valve and the mitral valve. All this conditions will make the blood flow into the coronary arteries abnormal thus causing damage to the heart muscles.

Parents and doctors have to be careful when in the presence of this type of heart disease syndrome, the classical symptoms include:

* Difficulty suckling and / or feeding
* Lethargy
* Rapid breathing and / or shortness of breath
* Cold extremities
* Enlarged liver
* Poor pulse
* Pounding heart
* Bluish (cyanosis) or poor skin color
* Sudden death

Another heart related problem is athletic heart syndrome, also known by the names of athlete's heart or athletic bradycardia. This medical syndrome features an enlarged heart due to significant amounts of exercise. This syndrome is very common amongst athletes who train or exercise for more than an hour daily and in some occasions in heavy weight trainers because of all the effort they have to do. This syndrome is believed to be a benign condition and thus has little impact on overall health but may be hard to distinguish from other serious medical conditions that present similar symptoms.

There are many other types of heart syndromes that may affect newborn babies of perfectly healthy adults, the important factor here is always having a regular check up with an experienced physician. Weather you or your loved ones present athlete's heart syndrome, right or hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the possibilities of survival are always increase with an on-time medical diagnosis.