![]() ![]() We will help patients transition care to an adult cardiologist when appropriate. It is important that children born with interruption of the aortic arch continue to see a cardiologist, even as they become adults. Additional procedures, such as surgery or catheterization, may be required when the child is older. Some may experience problems with the aortic arch or the aortic valve (which opens and closes to allow blood to flow out of the heart into the aorta) and in the region of the aorta immediately under the valve. Some patients will develop related problems as children or adults. Patients will need to carefully follow doctors’ advice, including staying on any medications prescribed and, in some cases, limiting exercise. Our pediatric cardiologists follow patients until they are young adults, coordinating care with the primary care physician. Treatment for interruption of the aortic archĬhildren born with interruption of the aortic arch will require lifelong care by a cardiologist. Genetic testing (a blood test) for this syndrome will likely be part of our evaluation. ![]() The Fetal Heart Program team will discuss delivery in the Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit with mother and family.Ī large number of children with interruption of the aortic arch also have a genetic syndrome called the 22q11 deletion syndrome (also known as DiGeorge, velocardialfacial or conotruncal anomaly face syndromes). The parents are able to remain close to their newborn, and they can talk directly with the healthcare providers immediately after the child is born. Newborns can be in the care of pediatric cardiologists and specially trained cardiac nurses immediately. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has its own delivery unit, on the same floor as cardiac operating rooms and cardiac patient care units. Our Fetal Heart Program can help with a plan for delivery and care immediately after birth. Sometimes interruption of the aortic arch is diagnosed on a fetal ultrasound and/or fetal echocardiogram. Cardiac MRI: a three-dimensional image shows the heart’s abnormalities.Cardiac catheterization: a thin tube is inserted into the heart through a vein and/or artery in either the leg or through the umbilicus (“belly button”).Pulse oximetry: a noninvasive way to monitor the oxygen content of the blood.Electrocardiogram (ECG): a record of the electrical activity of the heart.Echocardiogram: sound waves create an image of the heart.Signs and symptoms of interruption of the aortic archĭiagnosis may require some or all of these tests: Your team at the Cardiac Center will explain the specific anatomy of your child’s heart in detail. Wherever the disconnection occurs, the passage of oxygenated blood to the lower body is compromised, or literally interrupted.Ĭhildren with interruption of the aortic arch almost always also have a large ventricular septal defect (VSD), or a hole in the wall between the two lower, pumping chambers of the heart. Type C (least common): The disconnection is after the innominate artery (sometimes called the brachiocephalic artery).Type B (most common): The disconnection is after the left carotid artery.Type A: The disconnection is after the left subclavian artery.Three arteries, feeding the head, neck and arms, branch off directly from the aortic arch, in this order: innominate, left carotid, left subclavian. There are three types of interruption of the aortic arch, based on the location of the break in the aorta. After it closes, an infant with interruption of the aortic arch will quickly become very sick without medical intervention. ![]() This vessel exists in the fetus, but closes within hours or days of birth. The ductus arteriosus is an alternate route for oxygenated blood to reach the lower body. Arteries that deliver blood to the abdomen, legs, and other parts of the lower body branch off from the lower, descending aorta.Ī newborn can survive with a disconnection in the aorta as long as a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus remains open. Arteries that deliver blood to the head, arms and other parts of the upper body branch off at the top of the arch. From the heart, the aorta arches up and then curves around and down. The aorta starts at the left ventricle (lower chamber) of the heart as one large vessel and branches into smaller vessels to carry blood to different parts of the body. In a child with interruption of the aortic arch, there is a disconnection (a break) between the top part of the aortic arch and the lower, descending aorta. The aorta is the main artery that carries blood with oxygen out of the heart to the body. ![]()
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