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Truncus arteriosus - Symptom

Alternative Names

Truncus

Symptoms:

Heart failure
Lethargy
Poor feeding
Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
Fatigue
Cyanosis (blue discoloration of skin)
Delayed growth or growth failure
Broadening of the finger tips (clubbing)

Signs and tests:

The cardiologist or pediatrician usually hears a murmur when listening to the heart with a stethoscope.

ECG shows signs of enlargement of the heart (ventricular hypertrophy).
X-ray of the chest shows heart enlargement and fluid-filled lungs.
Echocardiogram shows a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and a single truncal artery -- definitive diagnosis.
Rarely, a heart catheterization is necessary to help with the diagnosis or planning of a treatment strategy.
MRI of the heart.

Heart, section through the middle

Truncus arteriosus

Reviewed last on: 12/10/2007
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.; and Mark A Fogel, MD, FACC, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology, Director of Cardiac MR, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

References

Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo; WB Saunders; 2007.

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