What is patent ductus arteriosus?
Patent ductus arteriosus is a congenital heart condition where there is a persistent connection between the pulmonary artery and the aorta. This causes blood to mix between the two arteries and forces the heart and lungs to work harder. This special tube is necessary in fetal life before baby’s are born to allow them to use the placenta. Usually, it is programmed to close spontaneously in the first few days of life after birth.
Patent ductus is the sixth most common congenital heart defect. It occurs in 5 to 10 percent of all children born with congenital heart disease. Patent ductus occurs twice as often in girls as in boys. It is more common in premature infants.
In babies with patent ductus, the fetal ductus arteriosus remains open (patent). This allows the oxygen-rich (red) blood to mix with oxygen-poor (blue) blood and forces the lungs and heart to handle a larger amount of blood than is normal. This is inefficient flow and causes the heart to work harder to meet it’s demands. If the PDA is large and if left over time it can lead to heart failure.
Treatment children with a patent ductus arteriosus?
If the PDA is large enough to cause a haemodynamic burden on the child’s heart then we would advise to close the communication. Treatments, including medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter-based interventions and minimally-invasive surgical solutions are available depending on the size and type of PDA.
