Summary: Transposition Of The Great Vessels

Transposition of the Great Vessels Transposition of the great vessels is a heart condition that is present in infants at birth and often known as a congenital heart defect or the more common term is the transposition of the great arteries(TGA). TGA is when the two main arteries, the pulmonary artery and the aorta, are switched in position, or "transposed". As a normal heart, deoxygenated blood returning to the heart from the body is pumped from the right side of the heart through the pulmonary artery to the lungs and to the left side of the heart then back out to the rest of the body with oxygenated blood and the cycle repeats. In TGA, deoxygenated blood returning are not going to the lungs to be oxygenated, but is pumped back out to the body. This happens because …show more content…
The function of the pulmonary artery, which normally carries deoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs, is now on the left side of the heart that carries oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the lungs. The function of the aorta, which normally carries oxygenated blood from the left side to the rest of the body, now its function is on the right side of the heart carrying deoxygenated blood and pumping it back out to the rest of the body. The result of transposition of these two arteries will lead to poor oxygen in the blood being transported to the rest of the body and will have fatal conditions. Because of the poor oxygenated blood the body is receiving, TGA is one of the heart problems known as "blue-baby syndrome". According to Stanford Children's Health, transposition of the great arteries is the second most common congenital heart defect that causes problems in infants, but it is about 3% of all congenital heart defects. This condition will be identified by its symptoms and signs with that will have diagnosis,