How Old Do People With Tetralogy Of Fallot Live?

What is the life expectancy of someone with tetralogy of Fallot? It is difficult to predict how long a child with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot is going to live but data suggests that the outcome is generally good

up to 30-40 years after complete repair

.

Is tetralogy of Fallot compatible with life?

Most children born with tetralogy of Fallot are treated with

a corrective repair

. This repair involves a patch to close the septal defect and enlargement of the pulmonary valve to facilitate blood flow to the lungs. The patch stays in place permanently, though in rare cases it can leak later in life.

Can you survive tetralogy of Fallot without surgery?

The survival data from these two sources were remarkably similar, indicating that

66 percent of persons with tetralogy of Fallot not treated surgically live to age 1 year

, 49 percent to age 3 years and 24 percent to age 10 years; thereafter, the hazard function (or instantaneous risk of death) remains constant.

Can you have a baby if you have tetralogy of Fallot?

After surgical repair, the majority of young women with TOF could survive

into their reproductive age

. Without repair, TOF patients rarely reach childbearing age and get pregnant.

At what age should tetralogy of Fallot be corrected?

The best survival and physiological outcomes were achieved with primary repair in children aged

3 to 11 months

. Conclusions—On the basis of mortality and physiological outcomes, the optimal age for elective repair of tetralogy of Fallot is 3 to 11 months of age.

Is TOF life threatening?

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart defect that

can be fatal if it’s left untreated

. It’s also known as “tet.” The “tetra” in the name of the condition comes from the four problems associated with it. The condition is named after Dr. Etienne Fallot.

Can kids with tetralogy of Fallot play sports?

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is the most common form of cyanotic congenital defect. Adult subjects with results of repair of tetralogy of Fallot may present post-surgical consequences that limit their physical capacity and thus their ability to compete in

sports

.

How long does TOF surgery take?

This procedure usually takes

5 to 6 hours

, but preparation and recovery may add several hours. The procedure is usually performed in the cardiothoracic operating room (OR).

Can adults have tetralogy of Fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is the

most common complex lesion seen in adults with congenital heart disease

(CHD). The condition usually is diagnosed at birth or shortly thereafter in response to its hallmark cyanosis.

How do you fix tetralogy of Fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot must be repaired

with open-heart surgery

, either soon after birth or later in infancy. The goal of surgery is to repair the four defects of tetralogy of Fallot so the heart can work as normally as possible. Repairing the defects can greatly improve a child’s health and quality of life.

What are four defects with tetralogy of Fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot is a combination of four congenital heart defects. The four defects are a

ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary stenosis, a misplaced aorta and a thickened right ventricular wall (right ventricular hypertrophy)

. They usually result in a lack of oxygen-rich blood reaching the body.

Can you get pregnant with a hole in your heart?

Having an adult congenital heart defect

will not physically prevent you from getting pregnant

. Certain conditions put you and your baby at higher risk for complications. If you have a high-risk condition, your doctor may advise you to avoid becoming pregnant.

Why does a child with tetralogy of Fallot squat?

Squatting is a compensatory mechanism, of diagnostic significance, and highly typical of infants with tetralogy of Fallot.

Squatting increases peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) and thus decreases the magnitude of the right-to-left shunt across the ventricular septal defect (VSD)

.

Can tetralogy of Fallot cause death?

Background:

Sudden cardiac death

remains the most common cause of death after repair of tetralogy of Fallot. It has been suggested that sudden cardiac death is related to right ventricular hypertrophy or dilation.

What is the survival rate of tetralogy of Fallot?

What happens after tetralogy of Fallot surgery?

Most children who have had a tetralogy of Fallot surgical repair will live healthy lives. Activity levels,

appetite and growth will eventually return to normal

in most children. Your child’s cardiologist may recommend that antibiotics be given to prevent bacterial endocarditis after discharge from the hospital.

How many babies are born with tetralogy of Fallot?

Occurrence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year about

1,660 babies

in the United States are born with tetralogy of Fallot. In other words, about 1 in every 2518 babies born in the United States each year are born with tetratology of Fallot.

What are the complications of tetralogy of Fallot?

• Blood clots (which may be in the brain causing stroke)
• Infection in the lining of the heart and heart valves (bacterial endocarditis)
• Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
• Heart failure.
• Death.

What is tetralogy of Fallot and what is a Tet spell?

One of the risks of tetralogy of Fallot is what are called tet spells. A tet spell is

an episode in which a child or infant becomes extremely blue and frequently agitated and out of breath

. The spell is caused by a relatively sudden decrease in blood flow to the lungs.

Is RVH reversible?

Currently,

there is no treatment to reverse the thickening of these

walls completely, although ACE inhibitors have been shown to help. Preventing right ventricular hypertrophy from getting worse is possible in many cases.

What is pink tetralogy Fallot?

Pink tetralogy of Fallot refers to a tetralogy of Fallot in which

the degree of right ventricular outflow obstruction is minimal

, resulting no significant right to left shunt, and therefore no cyanosis. Symptoms are mild and presentation may be delayed, even into adulthood.

Can tetralogy of Fallot be misdiagnosed?

While tetralogy of Fallot can be suspected prenatally,

it can be easily missed or misdiagnosed

; therefore, postnatal confirmation is imperative. Postnatal. A chest radiograph and a careful clinical examination might suggest the diagnosis; however, a definitive diagnosis is done by echocardiography.

What is a pink Tet?

Infants with tetralogy of Fallot can have normal oxygen levels if the

pulmonary stenosis is mild

(referred to as “pink” tetralogy of Fallot). In these children, the first clue to suggest a cardiac defect is detection of a loud murmur when the infant is examined.

Can TOF cause heart failure?

Cardiovascular disease is more common in TOF men 20 to 59 years old than in age-matched men from the general population, due to an increased prevalence of heart failure. Most heart failure seen in patients with TOF (of all ages) is mediated, at least in part, by pulmonic insufficiency.

Can Tetralogy of Fallot cause heart failure?

Adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot during infancy can present with the following complications later in life:

Right heart failure

.

Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias

.

Sudden death

.

Why Propranolol is used in tetralogy of Fallot?

It is concluded that (1) propranolol

was effective in preventing hypoxemic spells in 80 percent of infants

with tetralogy of Fallot. (2) Its effectiveness might have been greater had larger doses been administered. (3) When effective, propranolol delayed surgical intervention by an average of 13 months.

Can people with CHD have kids?

Most women with CHD can have a successful pregnancy

, but it requires careful planning and discussion. For some women with CHD, pregnancy is not recommended. The risk of having a baby with CHD is greater if a parent has CHD. Pregnancy can cause serious damage to the heart, especially in women with severe CHD.

Can you live a normal life with a hole in your heart?

It is very possible to live with a hole in your heart

, without ever realising that it’s there. A patent foramen ovale, also known as a PFO, is a hole between the left and right atria (upper chambers) of the heart that we all have when we are in the womb, but this should close shortly after we’re born.

What is the life expectancy of someone with atrial septal defect?

Several patients tolerate large unrepaired defects for 80 years or even longer without serious disability. However, it is assumed that, as a rule, atrial septal defect reduces life expectancy, the

average age at death not exceeding 50 years

.

Does squatting increase preload or afterload?

Many textbooks explain that squatting

increases left ventricular preload and afterload

. Numerous reports have shown that squatting increases preload by augmentation of venous return.

What is a right to left shunt?

A shunt is an abnormal communication between the right and left sides of the heart or between the systemic and pulmonary vessels, allowing blood to flow directly from one circulatory system to the other. A right-to-left shunt

allows deoxygenated systemic venous blood to bypass the lungs and return to the body

.

What is pulmonary atresia?

Pulmonary atresia is a

birth defect

(pronounced PULL-mun-airy ah-TREE-sha) of the heart where the valve that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs doesn’t form at all. In babies with this defect, blood has trouble flowing to the lungs to pick up oxygen for the body.

What is overriding aorta?

An “overriding aorta,” which means

the artery that carries high-oxygen blood to the body is out of place and arises above both ventricles

, instead of just the left ventricle, as in a healthy heart.