Transposition of the Great Arteries
Transposition of the great arteries is a congenital heart defect in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed. Most babies born with transposition of the great arteries also have other heart birth defects, such as ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis and/or tricuspid valve regurgitation.
Transposition of the great arteries causes oxygen-depleted blood returning from the body to bypass the lungs and be pumped back out to the body. The pulmonary artery, which normally takes this blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs, instead carries oxygen-rich blood returning from the lungs back to the lungs. The aorta, which normally carries oxygenated blood from the left side of the heart to the body, instead carries oxygen-poor blood back out to the body.
Symptoms and Complications
Transposition of the great arteries is usually detected within the first few weeks of life due to low oxygen levels. The lack of oxygen getting to the body causes rapid breathing and gives the skin a bluish color. Once an opening in the heart called the patent ductus arteriosus (a prenatal connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery) closes, the symptoms will become more severe.
Many children suffering from transposition of the great arteries will develop symptoms of congestive heart failure in their first few weeks or months of life. Without proper treatment up to 50 percent of infants die within a month, and this increases to 90 percent in a year.
Treatment and Diagnosis
Most babies are quickly diagnosed using chest x-rays and an echocardiogram, which is a video image created using sound waves. Once a diagnosis is made, surgery will usually be performed. The following treatments might also be used along with surgery:
- Medication - intravenous medication called prostaglandin E1 can be used to keep the patent ductus arteriosus open. It serves as a temporary alternative opening for blood flow.
- Cardiac catheterization - a catheter and a balloon are used to create or enlarge an opening in the wall between the left and right atria, improving the mixing of oxygenated blood and oxygen-poor blood.
- Surgery - in the first two weeks after the birth a surgery called an arterial switch can be performed. While a heart-lung machine keeps the blood circulating, the aorta and pulmonary arteries are disconnected, switched and reconnected to their proper ventricles.
Talk to a Zoloft® Birth Defect Lawyer
Our Zoloft® birth defect lawyers can help you obtain compensation for your child’s heart defect if you were prescribed an SSRI such as Zoloft® (sertraline) during your pregnancy. Evidence has shown that SSRI medications might increase the risk of a broad range of birth defects in infants whose mothers use the medication during their pregnancy.
Heart defects such as t ransposition of the great arteries have been associated with SSRIs and pregnancy. To learn more, please contact us for a free review of your case.