Crisscross heart

The crisscross heart, also called "crossed heart", describes a congenital heart defect. The venous inflow of the two ventricles is crossed, there is a faulty connection between the heart atria and the ventricels. The heart of the patient looks like it's twisted around its longitudinal axis.

The disease manifests in the neonatal period or in the childhood. The newborns have a systolic heart sound and a bluish discoloration of the skin and/or mucous membranes.

Hypoplasia of the tricuspid valve and the right ventricle and pulmonary stenosis usually indicate a criss-cross heart.

Neither the mechanism of origin nor the cause is known so far.