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Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). March of Dimes Fall 2008 November 11, 2008. Background information. A congenital heart defect (problems present at birth) An artery called the ductus arteriosus leads blood from the heart away from the lungs in the baby during pregnancy
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Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) March of Dimes Fall 2008 November 11, 2008
Background information • A congenital heart defect (problems present at birth) • An artery called the ductus arteriosus leads blood from the heart away from the lungs in the baby during pregnancy • Under normal circumstances, a newborn’s ductus arteriosus closes with a few hours or a few days of birth
What is Patent Ductus Arteriosus • Sometimes the newborn’s ductus arteriosus does not close soon enough after birth. This is PDA.
Causes • No specific known causes • Genes may play a role • Side effect of other CHDs
Occurrence • Around 3000 diagnosedeachyear in the USA • More common in premature and/or hypoxic infants (lack of bradykinin) • More likely in babies with Down syndrome • More likely if mother had German measles (rubella) during pregnancy • Twice as common in girls as boys
Signs and Symptoms • Tachycardia • Sweating • Shortness of breath, fast breathing • Heart murmur • Tired easily • Poor feeding and weight gain • Enlargement of heart
Diagnosis • Diagnosis begins with heart murmur • Small PDA may not be diagnosed until later childhood • In premature babies, heart murmur may not be detected, so diagnosis begins with fast breathing • Two methods to diagnose: • Echocardiogram (ultrasound picture) • Electrocardiogram (electrical signals from heart)
Treatment and Outcomes • An otherwise healthy baby’s PDA may eventually go away • If other defects slowing blood flow are present, the PDA may be wanted to keep open until surgery can be performed • If the opening is too large and does not close by the age of 1 or 2, it will need to be treated • Treatment methods: medicine, catheter based, surgery
Treatments (cont’d) • Medicines used to close: indomethasin (in premature babies) and ibuprofen • Cardiac catheterization • Surgery is used when babies are too small for them to receive catheterization and is done on babies older than 6 months without other health problems from the PDA
What is March of Dimes Doing? Not specifically for PDA, but scientists funded by March of Dimes are working on linking genes and environmental factors to congential heart defects and also brain injuries to prevent and treat them.