A rare condition, present from birth, in which the heart points to the right-hand side of the chest instead of the left. The heart may also be malformed. Sometimes, the position of the abdominal organs is also reversed. The cause of dextrocardia is unknown. Surgical treatment is only necessary if the heart is malformed.
A condition in which a person’s heart is situated on the right of the chest in a mirror image of its usual position. This may be associated with similar inversion of the abdominal organs – situs inversus.
n. a congenital defect in which the position of the heart is a mirror image of its normal position, with the apex of the ventricles pointing to the right. It may be associated with other congenital defects and is often combined with situs invertus, in which the appendix and liver lie on the left side of the abdomen and the stomach lies on the right side. Isolated dextrocardia produces no adverse effects.
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