Information, Facts and Trivias
DEFINITION OF TERMS NEEDED IN STUDYING TETRALOGY OF FALLOT
Congenital defect – an abnormality that is present at birth
Cyanosis – abnormal bluish discoloration of the skin that occurs because of low levels of circulating oxygen in the blood and into the cells
Stenosis – a narrowing, or constriction, of a passage, duct, opening, etc.
Tags: Diseases, Tetralogy of FallotTetralogy of Fallot has four key features:
Ventricular septal defect
- an opening in the ventricular septum or dividing wall between the two lower chambers of the heart known as the right and left ventricles. This hole allows the oxygen-poor (blue) blood to mix with the oxygen-rich (red) blood.
Pulmonary stenosis
- abnormal narrowing of the opening into the pulmonary artery from the right ventricle. This narrowing blocks the blue blood from reaching the lung.
Right ventricular hypertrophy
- thickening of the anterior right ventricular wall and the septum while cavity size is usually normal or slightly enlarged. The muscular wall becomes thickened from overwork while the heart needs to pump harder against the resistance caused by the pulmonary stenosis.
Tetralogy of Fallot (“TOF” or “TET”) is the most common form of cyanotic congenital heart disease. It is a complex condition of several congenital (present at birth) defects that occur due to abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy.
Tags: Diseases, Tetralogy of Fallot
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