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Tetralogy of Fallot - Symptom

Alternative Names

TET; TOF

Symptoms:

Difficult feeding (poor feeding habits)
Failure to gain weight
Poor development
Cyanosis which becomes more pronounced during periods of agitation
Passing out
Sudden death
Clubbing of fingers (skin or bone enlargement around the finger nails)
Squatting during episodes of cyanosis
Stroke

Signs and tests:

A physical examination with a stethoscope almost always reveals a heart murmur.

Tests may include:

EKG (electrocardiogram) may show the thickening of the right ventricle muscle
CBC may show an increase in red blood cells
Chest x-ray may show a "boot shaped" heart and dark lungs
Cardiac catheterization helps show blood vessels in the lungs and heart
Echocardiogram provides a definite diagnosis
MRI of the heart (generally after surgery)

Heart, section through the middle

Tetralogy of Fallot

Cyanotic 'Tet spell'

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

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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