Fallot's tetralogy

Question 1

What is a heart murmur?

Answer 1

Whooshing sound that heart makes between the beats. Extra noise that the blood makes as it flows through the heart

Question 2

What structures are affected in fallot/s tetralogy?

Answer 2

Ventricular septum
Pulmonary valve
aorta
right ventricle

Question 3

What are the structural abnormalities?

Answer 3

Ventricular septal defect - hole in the heart

Pulmonary stenosis - narrowing of the pulmonary valve

Overriding aorta - position is over the right as well as the left

Right ventricular hypertrophy - more muscular due to a high pressure

Question 4

What is fallot’s tetralogy?

Answer 4

is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities of the heart (although only three of them are always present).

Question 5

What happens as a consequence of the ventricular septal defect?

Answer 5

Low oxygenation of blood due to the mixing of oxygenated and deoxgenated blood in the left ventricle via the VSD

Question 6

Why do babies appear blue?

Answer 6

Canosis - low blood oxygen saturation

Question 7

What are the other symptoms?

Answer 7

Difficulty in feeding
failure to gain weight
retarded growth
dyspnoea (shortness of breath)

Question 8

What are tet spells?

Answer 8

sudden, marked increase in cyanosis.

Question 9

Investigation?

Answer 9

Echocardiogram

Question 10

Treatment

Answer 10

Oxygen for the cyanosis

Surgery to form anastomosis between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery to allow more blood to get to lungs

Curative heart surgery - relieve the right ventricular outflow by careful removal of muscle and repair of VSD