Adult Echocardiography Practice Exam

Which condition is characterized by a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and associated anomalies?

1. Congenital heart disease

2. Rheumatic heart disease

3. Coronary artery disease

4. Cardiomyopathy

The correct answer is: Congenital heart disease

The condition characterized by a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and associated anomalies is congenital heart disease. Congenital heart disease refers to a variety of heart defects present from birth, including malformations of the heart's structure and associated blood vessels. A VSD, which is an opening in the ventricular septum that separates the heart's two lower chambers, is one of the most common congenital defects and often coexists with other heart abnormalities such as pulmonary stenosis, aortic arch anomalies, or other septal defects. Understanding that congenital heart disease encompasses a wide range of heart defects helps to clarify why this answer is the correct one. A VSD does not occur in isolation in many cases; it is often part of a broader spectrum of congenital anomalies that affect the heart's anatomy and function. Other conditions listed, such as rheumatic heart disease, involve damage to the heart resulting from rheumatic fever, primarily affecting the heart valves rather than constituting structural defects like VSD. Coronary artery disease relates to the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, leading to ischemic heart conditions, while cardiomyopathy involves diseases of the heart muscle that can lead to heart failure and is not specifically associated with VSDs. This context