What is tetralogy of fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot (say "fuh-LOH") is a type of congenital heart disease. Congenital heart disease refers to heart problems a baby is born with. These heart problems are usually diagnosed at or before birth.

Fallot is the name of a doctor who found this problem. A "tetralogy" is a group of four related things. So this heart problem is actually a set of four different problems in the baby's heart.

The heart has two main jobs: send oxygen-rich blood (red blood) from the lungs out to the body, and bring oxygen-poor blood (blue blood) from the body back to the lungs. The four problems in tetralogy of Fallot keep the heart from doing these jobs well. The problems include:

• Ventricular septal defect. This is an opening, or hole, between the two lower chambers of the heart, the ventricles. The hole lets red blood and blue blood mix before the blood flows out to the body.
• Overriding aorta. The large blood vessel called the aorta normally carries red blood from the left ventricle out to the body. An overriding aorta is attached to the heart in the wrong place. Instead of sitting on top of the ventricle, it sits on top of the ventricular septal defect. So instead of getting red blood, it gets a mixture of red and blue blood.
• Pulmonary stenosis. The heart sends blue blood to the lungs through the pulmonary valve. "Stenosis" means the valve—and sometimes the pulmonary artery—are too narrow. Less blood flows to the lungs to pick up oxygen.
• Thickened right ventricle. Because of pulmonary stenosis, the right ventricle has to work harder to pump enough blood to the lungs. This makes the ventricle wall thicker and leaves less room for pumping blood.

These heart problems keep your baby's body from getting enough oxygen.

Symptoms of tetralogy of Fallot may include:

• A blue tint to the skin, lips, or fingernails.
• Fast breathing.
• Sweating while feeding.
• Not eating well.
• Being fussy a lot of the time.

Your doctor may hear abnormal heart sounds, such as a heart murmur, when examining your newborn.

Your doctor will order tests to find the cause of abnormal sounds or of symptoms. The most common test used to identify this problem is called an echocardiogram, or "echo" for short. It uses sound waves to make an image of your baby's heart.

Your baby may have other tests, such as an EKG (electrocardiogram), chest X-ray, and checking the amount of oxygen in the blood.

A fetal ultrasound, which lets your doctor see an image of your baby before birth, sometimes finds this problem.

Your doctor will help you understand your baby's condition, your treatment choices, and what to expect from each choice.

Your baby may get medicine that helps keep red blood flowing to the body. The medicine may be given through a blood vessel in the belly button.

Your baby will need open-heart surgery to repair the problems.

Your doctor will make sure that you have all the information you need to take care of your baby. Your child's care team can show you how to help your baby. You can also ask the hospital staff about counseling and support.