What is Tetralogy of Fallot?
Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common congenital heart disease of children, it is termed as cyanotic heart disorder because it results in the inadequate flow of blood to lungs due to shunting which results in a hole of heart septum.
What are the causes of Tetralogy of Fallot?
The cause of tetralogy of Fallot is unknown.
But some disease conditions of a mother during pregnancy can cause Tetralogy of Fallot. These are:
• Rubella infection
• Prenatal nutrition deficiency
• Use of alcohol
• Age of the mother during the gestation period is more than 40 years.
• Diabetes during pregnancy
• Down syndrome
• The major cause of this congenital abnormality is genetic abnormality occurring in genes in chromosome 22.
What are the indications of Tetralogy of Fallot?
• Cyanosis in the first few months
• Severe obstruction in the right ventricular outflow
• Skin, lips and mucous membranes turn a blue color.
• The child gets tired easily
• Due to the repeated attack of difficult breathing child becomes irritable
How to investigate it?
• Echocardiography
• X-ray chest
What other diseases have similar symptoms as Tetralogy of Fallot?
• Aortic stenosis
• Pediatric apnea.
• Foreign body digestion
• Pediatric Pneumonia
• Pneumothorax.
• Pulmonary valvular stenosis
• Sickle cell anaemia
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome.
