Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional, however, I am using reputable sources but please ask a medical professional for specific healthcare concerns. There are also many websites which I will link below where you can find specific scientific evidence and research about Dextrocardia. This blog post is simply to make the general public aware of this condition.
What are congenital heart defects?
Congenital means that you are born with the condition. A congenital heart defect is the abnormal formation of your heart which you are born with.
Dextrocardia is a congenital heart defect where your heart is situated on the right rather than the left. Some people have isolated Dextrocardia where only their heart is on the right side of their body.
Less than 1% of the world population have dextrocardia.
Many people still live healthy lives with dextrocardia.
There is no known cause of Dextrocardia however there is a link to genetics.
In my particular case, I have an uncle with Dextrocardia as well however neither my parents have this condition nor my sisters. Now because Dextrocardia is congenital, some infants may be born with other heart defects
as well which may be life threatening.
Furthermore, some babies may be born without a spleen.... meaning they are more likely to get an infection.
People with Dextrocardia can also have situs inversus totalis. This is where multiple organs are located on the opposite side of your body.
0.01% of people have situs inversus.
In my case, my stomach is on the right with my liver on the left rather than anatomically where your stomach should be on the left.
Now don't ask me if my brain is also flipped........... although it very well may be (hehehehe)
Evidence-based resources:
uptodate journal
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