How to tell if you have patent ductus arteriosus

How to tell if you have patent ductus arteriosus? Patent ductus arteriosus is a common disease in newborns, which makes many mothers worried. Since the occurrence of this disease has a great impact on the health of children, everyone should understand the diagnosis method. So, how to tell if you have patent ductus arteriosus?

1. Patients with large electrocardiogram shunts may have varying degrees of left ventricular hypertrophy, occasionally left atrial hypertrophy, significantly increased pulmonary artery pressure, left and right ventricular hypertrophy, and in severe cases, only right ventricular hypertrophy.

2. X-ray examination shows that the cardiovascular shadow of patients with thin ductus arteriosus may be normal. Patients with large shunt flow have increased cardiothoracic ratio, enlarged left ventricle, downward expansion of apex, and slightly enlarged left atrium. Increased pulmonary blood flow, prominent pulmonary artery segment, and thickened vascular shadow at the hilum of the lung. When infants have heart failure, pulmonary congestion can be seen, and left ventricular and aortic pulsation is enhanced under stone throwing. In case of pulmonary hypertension, the pulmonary artery trunk and its branches at the hilum of the lung are enlarged, and the pulmonary arterioles in the distal lung field are narrowed, and the left ventricle has signs of enlargement and hypertrophy. The aortic knot is normal or convex.

3. Echocardiography is extremely helpful for diagnosis. Two-dimensional echocardiography can directly detect the unclosed ductus arteriosus. Parasternal pulmonary artery long-axis view or suprasternal aorta long-axis view is often used. Pulse Doppler can also detect typical systolic and diastolic continuous turbulent flow spectrum at the ductus arteriosus opening. Superimposed color Doppler can show red flow column from the descending aorta, flowing along the outer wall of the pulmonary artery through the unclosed ductus. In severe pulmonary hypertension, when the pulmonary artery pressure exceeds the aorta, blue flow can be seen from the pulmonary artery through the unclosed ductus into the descending aorta.

4. Cardiac catheterization: When pulmonary vascular resistance increases or other malformations are suspected, it is necessary to perform a cardiac catheterization, which can reveal that the blood oxygen content in the pulmonary artery is higher than that in the right ventricle. Sometimes a cardiac catheter can be inserted from the pulmonary artery through a patent catheter into the descending aorta.

5. Retrograde aortic angiography is of great value in the diagnosis of complex cases. By injecting contrast agent into the aortic root, the aorta and pulmonary artery can be visualized at the same time, and the patent ductus arteriosus can also be visualized.

After suffering from patent ductus arteriosus, children are prone to shortness of breath, and sometimes inexplicably experience fever, sweating, heart failure and other symptoms. If a child has these symptoms, parents should pay attention, otherwise it may easily put the child's life in danger and make parents regret it for the rest of their lives.