4/17/2023 0 Comments Interrupted aortic arch![]() Your caregivers will advise you as the pregnancy progresses. You may be asked to monitor your baby’s movements throughout the day. Your caregiver will probably order serial ultrasound scans, to watch carefully to assess whether the IAA is affecting your baby’s growth and well-being. What are the things to watch for during the pregnancy? Your caregivers will thoroughly examine your baby’s heart and other organs to get the most complete picture of his/her anatomy, and to consult with you to work out a care plan that best suits your individual case. You may also meet with specialists in pediatric heart surgery before delivery, to consult with you regarding the best way to manage your baby’s birth and care in the newborn nursery. Those specialized ultrasounds are called fetal echocardiography. They can monitor your baby’s progress with ultrasound scans focused on the fetal heart and the blood vessels surrounding it. In addition, your caregiver may refer you to specialists in fetal heart problems, such as a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and/or a pediatric cardiologist. ![]() This can provide essential information regarding your individual case. Your caregiver may refer you for genetic counseling and genetic testing. In many cases, however, no genetic cause is found. The most common is DiGeorge syndrome, which is caused by a deletion of a small portion of the chromosome number 22, one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that store our genetic information. There seems to be a genetic component to IAA in some cases. Other congenital heart defects, as well as other malformations, may also occur together with IAA.ĭuring the embryonic period (the first weeks of life in the womb), as the complex anatomy of the heart and blood vessels is developing, IAA seems to occur from a failure of earlier small arches to grow and merge properly. A VSD allows blood to cross between the two ventricles of the heart, causing oxygen-rich blood to mix with the oxygen-poor blood that is pumped by the right ventricle to the lungs. VSD’s are quite common, in fact they are the most common form of heart defect at birth. The right and left ventricles of the heart are separated by a wall of muscle called the ventricular septum a hole in this wall is called a VSD. Many fetuses with IAA also have another heart defect, called a ventricular septal defect or VSD. (Kindly see the figure, below.) The upper portion of the aorta still supplies the head and arms, but the flow to the lower body and legs is supplied by blood flowing from the pulmonary artery through a special fetal vessel and then into the Descending Aorta. Three variations of this problem exist, according to the place of the interruption. In Interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA), the aorta is divided somewhere along the arch into separate blood vessels. In most people, three blood vessels branch out of the aortic arch to supply the head and brain and the arms with oxygen-rich blood. The part of the aorta below the arch is called the Descending Aorta, it supplies the lower body and legs. The Aorta runs upward toward the head then turns downward toward the body, to form the Aortic Arch. The left ventricle pumps blood rich in oxygen through the Aorta to the body and brain, while the right ventricle pumps oxygen-poor blood out through the Pulmonary Artery to the lungs. The ventricles are the heart’s pumping chambers blood from the heart flows into the Great Arteries, the Aorta and the Pulmonary Artery. Our hearts are comprised of four chambers, two upper chambers, the right atrium and left atrium, and two lower chambers, the right and left ventricles. Interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA) is a rare birth defect of the heart. What is an interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA)? This leaflet is to help you understand what Interrupted aortic arch is, what tests you need and the implication of having been diagnosed with Interrupted aortic arch for your baby and your family. ISUOG and FMF Present Ultrasound Essentials.
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