Truncus arteriosus
This is a defect in which the normally separate pulmonary artery and aorta merge into one single large vessel (truncus) arising from the two bottom chambers of the heart (right and left ventricles). Many people who have this defect also have a large ventricular septal defect, which turns the right and left ventricles into a single chamber. This allows red oxygenated blood and blue unoxygenated blood to mix. Too much blood may flow to the lungs, flooding them and making it difficult to breathe. It can also result in life-threatening pulmonary hypertension — high blood pressure in the lungs.
Surgery is needed to close the septal defect with a patch and to separate the pulmonary arteries from the trunk.
Truncus arteriosus: Symptoms, Surgical Process and Risks
ReplyDeleteTruncus arteriosus otherwise known as Persistent truncus arteriosus, is a kind of congenital heart disease that is not a frequent occurence. Here, the Truncus Arteriosus is not forked properly into the aorta and pulmonary artery, resulting into the presence of a single large artery instead. Hence, this single artery has to perform dual functions of carrying blood both to the body as well as the lungs. The truncus is situated on an opening which is in between the two ventricles (ventricular septal defect).
http://heart-consult.com/articles/truncus-arteriosus-symptoms-surgical-process-and-risks