Transposition Of The Great Arteries Essay

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Description of Disease Transposition of the great arteries is a life threatening congenital heart defect. In transposition of the great arteries, the two main arteries, the aorta and the pulmonary artery, are reversed. These arteries are responsible for carrying blood away from the heart through the left or right ventricle depending on whether the blood has been oxygenized or not. In a normal heart, there is a constant blood flow pattern in which blood is cycled from the body to the heart, the heart to the lungs, where it is oxygenated, then, from the lungs, back to the heart, and back to the body. When a transposition occurs within a heart, it impairs the path of the blood’s cycle by connecting the two main arteries to the wrong chambers of the heart. The hearts shown in Figure 1 compare a healthy heart …show more content…
One circuit circulates oxygen poor blood from the body back to the body, and the other one circulates oxygen-rich blood from the lungs back to the lungs. When the body continues to receive oxygen poor blood, eventually, it will not have enough oxygen in the bloodstream that the body needs in order to survive.
Diagnosis
When an infant is born, there are standard exams that are conducted to confirm a baby’s health. An immediate sign that a newborn has transposition of the great arteries is a bluish tint to the newborn’s mouth and skin. Another major indication is if the doctor hears a heart murmur during a newborn’s physical examination. If one of these two main signs appears, a doctor will recommend a pediatric cardiologist and/or a neonatologist. When a doctor notices the blue color of the newborn, he or she will place the baby on supplemental oxygen. This usually will improve the problem if the defect is in the infant’s lungs; however, if the oxygen does not help, the doctor will believe the defect is in the

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