Specific types of congenital heart defects that cause blood to pass directly from the right side of the heart to the left side result in cyanosis. In these defects, some of the blood that is pumped to the body has not been oxygenated by the lungs and therefore will appear more blue. Infants with these types of heart defects may have a constant bluish tint to their skin, or they may have temporary episodes of cyanosis. The degree of cyanosis is dependent on how much deoxygenated blood is mixed with oxygenated blood before being pumped to the body.
