patent ductous arteriousus is a normal fetal artery that connects the aorta and pulmonary artery. normally during premature babies this artery fails to close and if large enough can cause many problems. the aorta will be pumping extra blood into the lungs and this can cause the heart and lungs to become congested. if the artery is small enough it wont be much of a concern other than when auscultated a murmur will be present. if the vessel is larger the child may breathe more rapidly than normal and have high blood pressure. in this case a small catheter would be used to navigate through the vessels to insert a plug in the duct, or the chest may have to be opened and the vessel ligated using …show more content…
this is where there is a hole in between the two chambers. this normally will close up, but if the hole is larger it will allow blood to back flow in the right atrium and this can cause the pulmonary arteries to work harder than they should. in adults the hole may close but not completetly this is called a patent foramen ovale or PFO. surgery would be needed to close larger defects. after surgery the cardiologist may restrict the child's activities for a short while but then will be abke to resume as normal. depending on how severe of the repair the cardiologist may wish to follow up