Aortopulmonary window | |
---|---|
Other names | Aortopulmonary septal defect[1] |
A chest X-ray showing an Aortopulmonary window. | |
Specialty | Medical genetics |
Symptoms | Tachypnea, poor eating, left-to-right shunt, and diaphoresis.[2] |
Complications | Heart murmurs, eisenmenger syndrome, and heart failure.[2] |
Usual onset | Birth |
Diagnostic method | Physical examination findings, ECG, and imaging.[2] |
Differential diagnosis | Truncus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus.[3] |
Treatment | Heart surgery.[2] |
Prognosis | 40% chance of death within the first year if left untreated.[4] |
Frequency | 0.15-0.6% of all congenital heart malformations.[4] |
Aortopulmonary window (APW) is a faulty connection between the aorta and the main pulmonary artery that results in a significant left-to-right shunt.[2] The aortopulmonary window is the rarest of septal defects, accounting for 0.15-0.6% of all congenital heart malformations.[4] An aortopulmonary window can develop alone or in up to 50% of cases alongside other cardiac defects such as interrupted aortic arch, coarctation of the aorta, transposition of great vessels, and tetralogy of Fallot.[3]