Q25.5: Atresia of pulmonary artery

Major, important blood vessels branch out of the heart. The main artery (aorta), originating from the left lower chamber (ventricle) of the heart, supplies the whole body with oxygen-rich blood. The right ventricle pumps oxygen-poor blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where the blood is then enriched with oxygen.

The exit of your right lower heart chamber (ventricle) is blocked. As a result, blood cannot flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and has to flow into the lungs another way. Therefore, some of your blood vessels are formed differently than would normally be the case. You may also have a hole in the cardiac septum, which is the wall separating the left and right sides of the heart.

The differently formed blood vessels are narrower than the normal route through the pulmonary artery. This means that less blood flows into the lungs through these blood vessels than would normally be the case. The heart must then work harder to pump blood into the lungs through other blood vessels.

Having less blood flowing through the lungs means that you may feel very weak and short of breath. In many cases, the skin also appears bluish in color. These symptoms often begin shortly after birth. If the heart has to work much harder than normal, it may become weakened. A weak heart can make you seriously ill.