Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffPatent ductus arteriosus symptoms vary with the size of the defect and the gestational age of the infant at birth. A small PDA may cause no signs or symptoms, and may go undetected for some time, even until adulthood. A large PDA can cause signs of heart failure soon after birth.
Your doctor may first suspect a heart defect during a regular checkup while listening to your baby's heart through a stethoscope.
A large PDA, found during infancy or childhood, may cause:
- Poor eating, poor growth
- Sweating with crying or eating
- Persistent fast breathing or breathlessness
- Easy tiring
- Rapid heart rate
- A bluish or dusky skin tone
When to see a doctor
Call your doctor if your infant or child:
- Tires easily when eating or playing
- Is not gaining weight
- Becomes breathless when eating or crying
- Always breathes rapidly or is short of breath
- Turns dusky or blue when crying or eating
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- Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/CongenitalHeartDefects/AboutCongenitalHeartDefects/Patent-Ductus-Arteriosis-PDA_UCM_307032_Article.jsp#.Trsm4fJUFI4. Accessed Nov. 9, 2011.
- Warnes CA, et al. ACC/AHA 2008 guidelines for the management of adults with congenital heart disease: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (writing committee to develop guidelines on the management of adults with congenital heart disease). Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2008;52:e143. Accessed Nov. 9, 2011.
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- Preconception care questions and answers. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/preconception/QandA.htm. Accessed Nov. 14, 2011.

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