Eisenmenger's Syndrome

Eisenmenger’s syndrome arises when the pressure on the right side of a heart defect (such as a ventricular septal defect) increases as a result of chronically raised pressure in the circulation in the lungs. Usually the pressure in the lungs is low. When there is shunting of blood from the left to the right through a hole between the two sides of the heart, the vessels in the lungs are exposed to higher pressures, and over a period of time they develop resistance, causing so-called pulmonary hypertension. When this is high enough, the shunt is reversed, and blood flows from the right side of the heart to the left. This causes cyanosis (because the blood from the right side is de-oxygenated, and therefore blue).
 
 
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