Vascular ring - Symptom

Symptoms:

Some children with a vascular ring never develop symptoms. However, in most cases, symptoms are seen during infancy. Pressure on the windpipe (trachea) and esophagus can lead to breathing and digestive problems. The more the ring presses down, the more severe the symptoms will be.

Breathing problems may include:

• High-pitched cough
• Loud breathing (stridor)
• Repeated pneumonias or respiratory infections
• Respiratory distress
• Wheezing

Eating may make breathing symptoms worse.

Digestive symptoms are rare, but may include:

• Choking
• Difficulty eating solid foods
• Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
• Slow breast or bottle feeding
• Vomiting

Signs and tests:

The doctor will listen to the baby's breathing to rule out other breathing disorders such as asthma. Listening to the child's heart through a stethoscope can help identify murmurs and other heart problems.

The following tests can help diagnose vascular ring:

• Chest x-ray
• Computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart
• Camera down the throat to examine the airways (bronchoscopy)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart
• Ultrasound examination (echocardiogram) of heart
• X-ray of blood vessels (angiography)
• X-ray of the esophagus using a special dye to better highlight the area (esophagram or barium swallow)