Medtronic Lawsuit Attorneys, Williams Kherkher

Parts of the Heart: The Right Ventricle

The ventricles make up half of the human heart. They are located in the lower portion of the heart and are served by the atria. The right ventricle is served by the right atrium. It receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium. This blood arrives in the right ventricle through the cuspid valve.

The right ventricle then pumps the blood into the pulmonary artery through the pulmonary valve and trunk. The blood is then sent to the lungs where it becomes oxygenated. The right ventricle is triangular in form and extends from the right atrium to near the apex of the heart.

A disease affecting the right ventricle is Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD). This disease, or myopathy, is characterized by fibrofatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium. This creates arrhythmias that originate in the right ventricle.

ARVD is a common cause of ventricular arrhythmias in both children and young adults. The disease affects mainly men. Thirty to fifty percent of the cases have a familial distribution. It is typically an inherited condition. It is a dominant gene which means that if one parent has it, chances are very good that the children will have it.

There have been seven different genes implicated in ARVD. Roughly 50% of the families that undergo genetic screening because they have ARVD do not actually have the genes to go with it. There is not a standard genetic screening test.

Contact a Medtronic Lawyer

If you have experienced unnecessary shocks from your Medtronic defibrillator with SprintFidelis leads, contact the Medtronic lead lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 800-761-3187 to discuss your options.