About PDA
Before birth, a fetus’s blood won’t need to go to the lungs to get oxygenated. Ductus Arteriosus is a hole that allows blood to skip circulation to the lungs. But, after the baby is born, the blood must receive oxygen in the lungs and this hole is supposed to close. In case the hole is left open, it’s called patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA. If the PDA is small, it may cause no problems and need no treatment, but if a large PDA is left untreated it can allow poorly oxygenated blood to flow in the wrong direction, weakening the heart muscle and causing heart failure and other complications soon after birth.
What is patent ductus arteriosus & its causes?
Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is a congenital heart defect that leaves an opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. This condition occurs when the ductus arteriosus, a blood vessel that’s a normal part of a baby’s circulatory system before birth, fails to close after birth.
In the womb, the ductus arteriosus allows blood to bypass the lungs, which aren’t yet needed for oxygenation. However, after birth, the baby’s blood needs to receive oxygen in the lungs, and this hole is supposed to close. If it remains open, it’s referred to as patent ductus arteriosus.
The size of the opening can vary, leading to symptoms that range from mild to severe. If the opening is very small, there may be no symptoms. However, a larger opening can lead to symptoms such as a heart murmur, rapid heartbeat, breathlessness, fast breathing, poor feeding, slow growth, low weight, and cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart).
The exact cause of PDA is not known, but it’s more common in premature infants and rare in full-term babies. Risk factors include preterm birth, family history, genetic conditions such as Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, rubella infection, and chromosomal abnormalities.
If left untreated, PDA can lead to complications such as pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and endocarditis. Diagnosis typically involves non-invasive tests such as auscultation, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), and chest X-ray.
PDA Symptoms
The symptoms of patent ductus arteriosus differ whether the baby is premature or full-term. A patent ductus arteriosus may at first appear as a heart defect, as the doctor will hear a heart murmur while listening to your baby's heart through a stethoscope. Babies with a large PDA might have symptoms such as:
Treatment options for a patent ductus arteriosus include monitoring, medications, and closure by cardiac catheterization or surgery.
PDA Treatment Recovery
As the surgeon makes a small cut between the patient's ribs, they reach the heart and repair the open duct using stitches or clips. Therefore the child will remain in hospital for several days for observation. Patients usually fully recover in a few weeks from surgery.