Pulmonary atresia (patient information)
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What is pulmonary atresia?
How do I know if I have pulmonary atresia and what are the symptoms of pulmonary atresia?
Symptoms usually occur in the first few hours of life. Symptoms may include:
- Cyanosis
- Shortness of breath
- Fast breathing
- Poor eating habits
- Fatigue
Other health problems may also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can tell for sure. A person with any of these symptoms should tell the doctor so that the problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
Who is at risk for pulmonary atresia?
Like other congenital heart diseases, the cause of pulmonary atresia is not clear. Pulmonary atresia sometimes is associated with other congenital heare diseases such as patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect and tetralogy of Fallot.
How to know you have pulmonary atresia?
- Echocardiography: This kind of painless test can help the doctor closely examine pulmonary atresia. It uses sound waves to produce an image of the ventricles, atrium and great vessles. Echocardiogram can tell whether pulmonary valve opens to let blood flow through or not. Further more, the doctor can measure the speed of blood flow through patient's heart and pulmonary valve area by echocardiogram.
- Chest x-ray: An x-ray image of chest allows the doctor to check the size and shape of your heart to determine whether the left atrium and ventricle are enlarged or not. And it also helps the doctor check the condition of your lungs. Patients with pulmonary atresia may show enlarged right ventricle on an x -ray.
- Chest ct or MRI: A chest CT or MRI can demonstrate the details of the heart extremely well, such as the positions of valval, vascular, atrial and ventricular structures and their relationships to one another.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Holter monitoring: Electrocardiogram and Holter monitoring can tell electric activities of the heart for cardiovascular diseases. They can supply informations about heart rhythm and indirectly, heart size. Patients with patent ductus pulmonary atresia may show a enlarged right ventricle sign.
When to seek urgent medical care?
Call your health care provider if your baby has symptoms of pulmonary atresia. If one emerges the following symptoms, seeking urgent medical care as soon as possible:
Treatment options
Diseases with similar symptoms
Where to find medical care for pulmonary atresia?
Directions to Hospitals Treating pulmonary atresia
Prevention of pulmonary atresia
Preventive measure is unknown. Many congenital defects can be discovered on routine ultrasound examinations. All pregnant women should receive good prenatal care. Screening test and regular check for those with family history of congenital heart disease may be helpful.
What to expect (Outook/Prognosis)?
Copyleft Sources
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001091.htm
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1303