Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Question: what activities should i stay away from since i have patent ductus arteriosus? i dont get any palpatations when im doing outdoor activities.more when im still or relaxed, so i get pains and a numb arm. i dont understand whats going on! im scared to do anything for fear or hurting myself.

Answer: Please check with your doctor whether your patent ductus arteriosus can be closed either by a device or surgically. If it is feasible, get it done. Then you can have all activities as any other person. If it is not feasible, then you have to restrict your activities and avoid strenuous activity.

Question: My puppy had a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) repair and I am having a hard time keeping her calm and quiet.? The surgeon said that she would need to stay calm for 1 month after surgery. She wants to run and play so bad, and I feel so bad for her. I feel like I am being mean by keeping her in her crate so much. Any suggestions?

Answer: Bite the bullet and continue to be the meanie. I know it's hard on both of you, but if you let her run loose before she's fully healed, the sutures inside the heart could rupture and she could, quite literally, drop dead. When she's healed and has the green light from her doctor, then you can start a gradual return to activity and make things up to her. In the meantime, you can hold her on your lap as long as she stays calm. And if you can't let her out, you can still keep her crate close to the couch or wherever else you happen to be so that she's not left all alone.

Question: What is the difference between PFO (patent foramen ovale) and PDA (patent ductus arteriosus)? I am interested in this question in regards to a child. And is surgery the best approach at a young age or should we wait until he's older in the hopes that it will close.

Answer: The foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus are two different structures, though they are both components necessary for fetal circulation that are supposed to close down shortly after birth. If either one doesn't close down [is patent] it causes abnormal blood flow. Why is it that everybody on here wants others to do their homework for them? Gosh!

Question: Why can one feel bounding pulses in a patient with patent ductus arteriosus? From the textbook: "A large PDA with left-to-right shunting may result in congestive heart failure and failure to thrive. Bounding pulses are palpable." Blueprints Pediatrics 4th edition. Thanks in advance for your help. I don't understand...if there is more blood in the lungs, how does that lead to bounding pulses in say, the carotids?

Answer: "If the ductus arteriosus does not close after birth as it should it... allows blood to flow directly from the aorta into the pulmonary artery and from there to the lungs. This extra amount of blood flowing into the lungs strains the heart and increases the blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs." The palpable pulse you feel would be that extra arterial blood.

Question: My niece (14 yrs old) has been diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus. What are treatment options? Most of the information I am finding relates to infants. How is this treated in teenagers? What are the lasting effects? She has always been very athletic until she started showing the symptoms that lead to her diagnosis. Will she still be able to participate in sports after treatment?

Answer: Occasionally, a small patent ductus arteriosus may not be detected until adulthood. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a persistent, abnormal opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. Fortunately, this heart defect present at birth (congenital) often closes on its own or is readily treatable. A small patent ductus arteriosus often doesn't cause symptoms. A doctor may discover it during a routine exam. An infant with a larger patent ductus arteriosus often has trouble gaining weight and exhibits other symptoms. An older child with a patent ductus arteriosus may not be as active as normal, may tire more easily and may have frequent lung infections. Treatment options for repairing a patent ductus arteriosus include medications and surgery. Surgery to repair a patent ductus arteriosus involves patching or sewing shut the abnormal opening. This can be done through an incision in the side of the chest or by catheterization. In cardiac catheterization, a thin tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and threaded up to the heart. Through the catheter, a plug or coil may be deployed to close the ductus arteriosus. In surgery, the ductus is closed with a metal clip. Parents of children with congenital heart defects often worry about the risks of rough play and vigorous activity even after successful treatment. Although some children may need to limit the amount or type of exercise, many can lead normal or near-normal lives. Your doctor can advise you about which activities are safe for your niece. Take care as always!

Question: what is the patent ductus arteriosus? when i was 5 years old i had to get a cathederized coil enclosure in this place in my heart.... does anyone know where it is and what it does?

Answer: PDA is a heart problem that is usually noted in the first few weeks or months after birth. It is characterized by a connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery which allows oxygen-rich (red) blood that should go to the body to recirculate through the lungs. All babies are born with this connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. While your baby was developing in the uterus, it was not necessary for blood to circulate through the lungs because oxygen was provided through the placenta. During pregnancy, a connection was necessary to allow oxygen-rich (red) blood to bypass your baby's lungs and proceed into the body. This normal connection that all babies have is called a ductus arteriosus. At birth, the placenta is removed when the umbilical cord is cut. Your baby's lungs must now provide oxygen to his/her body. As your baby takes the first breath, the blood vessels in the lungs open up, and blood begins to flow through to pick up oxygen. At this point, the ductus arteriosus is not needed to bypass the lungs. Under normal circumstances, within the first few days or weeks after birth, the ductus arteriosus closes and blood no longer passes through it. Most babies have a closed ductus arteriosus by 72 hours after birth. Anatomy of the heart, normal

Question: Best Patent Ductus Arteriosus treatment? My 8 month old daughter is diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus. Doctors believe it needs to be closed by catathonic procedure when she is around 12 months old. The other option is surgical operation. My questions: arent there any other ways to treat it ? eg by medicine (what are the risks?) where in the world they have the most experience with this and make the best operations/procedures on infants?

Answer: " Infants without adverse symptoms may simply be monitored as outpatients, while symptomatic PDA can be treated with both surgical and non-surgical methods. [1] Surgically, the DA may be closed by ligation, wherein the DA is manually tied shut, or with intravascular coils or plugs that leads to formation of a thrombus in the DA. Fluid restriction and prostaglandin inhibitors such as indomethacin have also been used in successful non-surgical closure of the DA. This is an especially viable alternative for premature infants. In certain cases it may be beneficial to the newborn to prevent closure of the ductus arteriosus. For example, in transposition of the great vessels a PDA may prolong the child's life until surgical correction is possible. The ductus arteriosus can be induced to remain open by administering prostaglandin analogs. " Don't worry too much. PDA is rather frequent. I think the US / world best hospital is Johns Hopkins. Pray.

Question: Is patent ductus arteriosus a disqualifier for the army? I had PDA but had heart surgery wen i was three will i still be able to get into the army

Answer: As long as you have good medical records, and a good final disposition from your Doctor, you can join. You may have to jump through a couple of minor hoops before you pass the physical (stuff like an EKG, etc.) but I have seen it done.

Question: our puppy had Patent ductus arteriosus can you explain what that is?

Answer: This link explains it. Although the link refers to the problem in humans,it's the same in pups. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pda/pda_what.html

Question: For Patent ductus arteriosus, why is indomethacin mixed with vodka?

Answer: Because, Indomethacin is not soluble in water. Any other alcoholic concentrated beverage can work just as well... The ductus arteriosus remains patent during about 12 hours after an oral dose of 1.2 miligrams of indomethacin of kilogram of weight of the newborn.... So the dose is repeated until surgical intervention ) or catheter patch, or better, a bilibated silastic small baloon) is placed in the ductus arteriosus between the aorctic arch ant the main trunk of the pulmonary artery (the indomethacin just buys time, keeping the hole open)

Question: question about patent ductus arteriosus? I had patent ductus arteriosus surgery at birth. I have never had any issues since then (that I have been aware of) but I am curious if this is something I should check-in with a doctor about every so often just to make sure everything is okay? I have mentioned it to my regular dr and he didnt seem concerned but he's also not an expert on PDA. I would probably need to be having an issue to be seen by a specialist right?

Answer: hi. u dont need to "have something" to go and have urself checked by a doctor. and we as doctors respect and encourage such behavior. cos it helps help the patient to maintain a good quality of life by early detection of diseases if there were any .

Question: Anyone had a child with patent ductus arteriosus or bicuspid aortic valve? I am just wondering what happened with them. I just found out my four year old has these heart problems. She has to have a heart cath on the 18th of Sept.

Answer: My daughter has a heart defect, but it doesn't involve either of those problems. I have known of several children with one or the other or both of these and they are all doing quite well. This site has collected stories of children with heart defects and they are organized by type: http://tchin.org/portraits/by_diagnosis.… My daughter has had one cath and we are scheduled for another Aug. 23. If you want to know what to expect I can describe our cath experience, just let me know. Sorry I can't give you any more information specific to your daughter's problems but I hope this helps some!

Question: What is patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)? What is patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in dogs? Are they healthy after they get the surgery required to help this? Does anyone have any ideas for raising money for a baby dog that needs this surgery?

Answer: i beleive this is a hole in the heart...yes they can live healthy lives once its fixed, i have heard of then closing on their own, depends on how bad it is

Question: patent ductus arteriosus? my 2yr old has just been diagnoised with patent ductus arteriosus.we r awaiting for a op.anyone know how serious it is and been through it.please help

Answer: Failure of a child's DA (ductus arteriosus) to close after birth results in a condition called patent ductus arteriosus and the generation of a left-to-right shunt. If left uncorrected, patency leads to pulmonary hypertension and possibly congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. I have not been through it personally, but I see lots of these a year and generally the surgeries go very well and recover to a normal life, with some exceptions.

Question: patent ductus arteriosus question.? I had patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) surgery when I was 7. Today, I'm a 20 yr. old female who has been experiencing a lot of breathing problems when walking up and down steps and also when running (which I can't do long and haven't been able to since the heart surgery). My heart starts jumping out of my chest, I can't catch my breath, and it's usually followed by sharp chest/heart pain on the left side. Has anyone with PDA problems had this problem? Or does anyone know what to do about it? I am supposed to get a stress test, but I've been putting it off because I am hesitant to hear the results. Any suggestions or thoughts would be GREAT! Thank you!

Answer: you shud go see your cardiologist if you think there is a problem when was the last time you saw the hart doc? my son was fixed at 9 month

Question: My dog has had PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) as a pup, and has had surgery...? If she has puppies when she is older will they be at risk of inheriting this condition?

Answer: it is possible that she will pass it on if it is genetic, the best thing you can do is to research the PDA and see if she can pass it on, if she can then i would advise you do not breed from her, i am sorry but i do not know about this so your best bet is to see if you can find out if it is genetic or not, sometimes you need the mum and dad to be a carrier i looked on this web site to find out about the condition www.heartydog.co.uk/diseases/en/patent_a… and would recomend that if you have one of these dogs then breeding her may not be an option for you, the best thing you can do is to ask your vets advice or a breeder who has the same dog as you, but as a breeder if my girl had a puppy with a heart defect then i would no longer breed her and one of the conditions of sale would be to get the puppy neutered/spayed when they were old enough, there are too many breeds that have inherited disorders and as a responsible breeder you need to find out if this condition is inherited if it is then it would be irrisponsible to breed from your dog as dissapointing as it is you can not breed from a possible carrier, i am not one of the neuter club but in this case i would not take the chance of possible passing this condition to another dog, best of luck with your search.