Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia and left Pulmonary Artery Hypoplasia

(See Normal Heart Image for comparison)

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• Tetralogy of Fallot is a combination of these four heart defects:

1. Large Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) [septum=wall between the chambers of the heart, ventricles=lower chambers of the heart] – holes in the inner walls of the heart allowing extra blood flow between the two lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). This causes the oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix before leaving the heart.
2. Enlarged Aorta (AO) that sits directly above the ventricular septal defect (VSD).  In a normal heart, the aorta carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the body.
3. Pulmonary  Stenosis [pulmonary=having to do with the lungs, stenosis=narrowing of a passage, ] – a narrowing of the pulmonary artery (which carries blood from the heart to the lungs) at or near the pulmonary valve.
4. Right-Ventricular Hypertrophy [ventricles=lower chambers of the heart,hyper=excessive, trophy=condition of growth] thickening of the right-ventricular walls because the heart is working too hard.

This heart also has:

• left Pulmonary Artery Hypoplasia [pulmonary=having to do with the lungs, hypoplasia=under developed] the left artery that carries oxygen-poor blood into the lungs is under developed.
• Pulmonary Atresia [pulmonary=having to do with the lungs, atresia=without openings] a complete blockage of the pulmonary artery (which carries blood from the heart to the lungs) caused by a missing or fused-shut pulmonary valve.