Overview By Mayo Clinic Staff Print Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) is a rare heart condition that's present at birth. That means it's a congenital heart defect. You also may hear this called congenital heart disease. In this heart condition, blood vessels that return blood from the lungs to the heart, called the pulmonary veins, attach to the wrong place in the heart. In a typical heart, oxygen-rich blood flows from the lungs to the upper left heart chamber, called the left atrium. Blood then goes to the rest of the body. In TAPVR, where the veins connect is changed. Instead of flowing through the left atrium, blood flows through the upper right heart chamber, called the right atrium. This change in blood flow causes the oxygen-rich blood from the pulmonary veins to mix with oxygen-poor blood that also flows into the right atrium. As a result, blood flowing to the body doesn't have enough oxygen. Another name for this condition is total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC). The names TAPVR and TAPVC refer to the same congenital heart defect. Both terms are used and widely accepted. TAPVR is different from partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR). In PAPVR, only some of the pulmonary veins attach to the wrong place in the heart. Some veins are not affected. Request an appointment Diagnosis & treatment Sept. 30, 2026 Print Share on: FacebookTwitter Living with total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR)? Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Heart & Blood Health support group on Mayo Clinic Connect, a patient community. Heart & Blood Health Discussions Living with high calcium score 132 Replies Fri, Oct 09, 2026 chevron-right Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off? 419 Replies Sat, Sep 26, 2026 chevron-right High Coronary Calcium Score: How do others feel emotionally? 697 Replies Thu, Sep 17, 2026 chevron-right See more discussions Show references Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC). American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/congenital-heart-defects/about-congenital-heart-defects/total-anomalous-pulmonary-venous-connection-tapvc. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. What is congenital heart disease? American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/congenital-heart-defects/about-congenital-heart-defects. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Soriano BD, et al. Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/heart-defects/about/tapvr.html. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Martin RJ, et al., eds. Congenital defects of the cardiovascular system. In: Fanaroff and Martin's Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: Diseases of the Fetus and Infant. 12th ed. Elsevier; 2025. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Aug. 24, 2024. Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR). Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/congenital-cardiovascular-anomalies/total-anomalous-pulmonary-venous-return-tapvr. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Overview of congenital cardiovascular anomalies. Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/congenital-cardiovascular-anomalies/overview-of-congenital-cardiovascular-anomalies. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Congenital heart defects in children. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/congenital-heart-defects-children/symptoms-causes/syc-20350074. Accessed Aug. 19, 2026. Voleti SV, et al. Total anomalous pulmonary venous connections. Clinics in Perinatology. 2025; doi:10.1016/j.clp.2025.08.010. Stanley HM, et al. Multimodality imaging in presurgical evaluation of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: Single-center practice variability and a systematic review of diagnostic error. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. 2025; doi:10.1016/j.echo.2025.05.020. Henningsen MB, et al. Nationwide registry study of long term survival and comorbidities in total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in Denmark. Scientific Reports. 2025; doi:10.1038/s41598-025-15769-0. 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