About Pulmonary Atresia :-
Pulmonary atresia (uh-TREE-zhuh) is a heart defect present at birth (congenital) that is usually diagnosed soon after birth. In pulmonary atresia, the valve that lets blood out of the heart to go to your or your baby's lungs (pulmonary valve) does not form properly.
Without a relation from the pumping chamber to the pulmonary artery, blood can not travel its normal route to pick up oxygen from the lungs. Instead, some blood travels to the lungs from other natural passages within the heart and its arteries.
These passages are important when your baby is growing in the womb and they usually close soon after the birth. Babies with pulmonary atresia commonly have a bluish cast to their skin because they are not getting enough oxygen they need.
Pulmonary atresia is a life-threatening circumstances. Procedures to correct your baby's heart situation and medications to help your baby's heart work more successfully are the first steps to treat pulmonary atresia.
Pulmonary Atresia Types :-
• Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum,
• Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septum defect.
Pulmonary Atresia Signs & Symptoms :-
If your baby is born with a pulmonary atresia, symptoms will be noticeable soon after the birth of baby. Your baby's signs and symptoms may involve-
• Blue- or gray-toned skin, (cyanosis)
• Breathing fast or shortness of breath,
• Easily tiring or being fatigued,
• problems in feeding.
Pulmonary Atresia Causes :-
There are no known reason for the cause of pulmonary atresia.
Pulmonary Atresia Risk Factors :-
In most cases, the perfect cause of a congenital heart defect, such as pulmonary atresia, is still unknown. However, many factors may increase the risk of a baby being born with a congenital heart defect, involving:
• A parent or sibling who has a congenital heart defect,
• A mother who is obese before getting pregnant,
• Smoking before or during pregnancy,
• A mother who has badly controlled a diabetes,
• Use of any types of medications during your pregnancy, like as certain acne drugs and blood pressure medications.
Pulmonary Atresia Complications :-
Without treatment, pulmonary atresia is nearly always fatal. Even after surgical repairs, you will need to be more carefully monitor your child's health for any changes that could signal a problem.
People with structural heart problems, like pulmonary atresia, are at a more risk of infectious endocarditis than the general population. Infectious endocarditis is an irritation of the valves and inner lining of the heart caused by a bacterial infection.
Even after treatment is done, people born with pulmonary atresia appear to face a greater risk of certain heart problems, such as abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and heart failure as adults.
Pulmonary Atresia Preventioèn :-
Because the exact cause of pulmonary atresia is not known, so it may not be possible to prevent it. But, there are some things you can do that can reduce your child's overall risk of congenital heart defects,
Like:
• Control chronic medical conditions-
If you have diabetes, keep cheaking your blood sugar it can reduce the risk of heart defects. If you have other chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy, which require the use of medications, discuss the risks and benefits of these drugs with your doctor.
• Don't smoke-
Smoking cigarettes while your were pregnant may grow the risk of heart defects in your baby.
• Maintain a healthy weight-
If you're obese, you have more risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect.
• Get a German measles (rubella) vaccine-
If you grow German measles during pregnancy, it can affect your baby's heart growing. If you are being vaccinated before you try to conceive likely removes this risk. But, no link has been shown between rubella and the development of pulmonary atresia.