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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIn order for the pediatric cardiologist to check the condition of your baby's heart and make a diagnosis, he or she will order one or more tests:
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram shows the structure and function of your baby's heart. With this test, a technician spreads gel on your baby's chest and then presses a device called a transducer against the skin over his or her heart. The transducer emits high-pitched sound waves and records the sound wave echoes as they reflect off internal structures. A computer converts the echoes into moving images on a monitor.
In a baby with truncus arteriosus, the echocardiogram reveals the single large vessel leading from the heart, a hole in the wall between the left and right ventricles, and sometimes an abnormality in the valve between the large vessel and the ventricles.
Because an echocardiogram shows the flow of blood, it may also reveal blood moving back and forth between the two ventricles and the amount of blood flowing to your baby's lungs. The amount of blood can indicate the risk of high blood pressure in the lungs.
X-ray
An X-ray exam uses electromagnetic radiation to produce still images of internal organs and structures. A chest X-ray of your baby can show the size of the heart, abnormalities in the lungs and excess fluid in the lungs.
- Hirsh JC, et al. Congenital heart disease. In: Doherty GM. Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Surgery. 13th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5215009. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Specific cardiac defects. In: Libby P, et al. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec197&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec319&uniq=195744492&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&sid=984783871. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Persistent truncus arteriosus. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec19/ch287/ch287k.html. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Sondheimer HM, et al. Cardiovascular diseases. In: Hay WW, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Pediatrics. 19th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3402846. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Truncus arteriosus. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11073. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Congenital heart defects. March of Dimes. http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1212.asp. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Koenig PR, et al. Congenital coronary artery abnormalities. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 6, 2010.
- Sullivan KE. Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: DiGeorge syndrome/velocardiofacial syndrome. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America. 2008;28:353.
- Cyanotic congenital heart disease: Lesions associated with increased pulmonary blood flow. In: Kliegman MD, et al. Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/195744492-3/0/1608/1010.html?tocnode=54483014&fromURL=1010.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50433-3_8277. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Verhaert D, et al. Truncus arteriosus with aortic arch interruption: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance findings in the unrepaired adult. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. 2010;12:16.
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