Echocardiogram: sound waves create an image of the heart.Signs and symptoms of interruption of the aortic archĭiagnosis may require some or all of these tests: Your team at the Cardiac Center will explain the specific anatomy of your child’s heart in detail. Wherever the disconnection occurs, the passage of oxygenated blood to the lower body is compromised, or literally interrupted.Ĭhildren with interruption of the aortic arch almost always also have a large ventricular septal defect (VSD), or a hole in the wall between the two lower, pumping chambers of the heart. Type C (least common): The disconnection is after the innominate artery (sometimes called the brachiocephalic artery).Type B (most common): The disconnection is after the left carotid artery.Type A: The disconnection is after the left subclavian artery.Three arteries, feeding the head, neck and arms, branch off directly from the aortic arch, in this order: innominate, left carotid, left subclavian. There are three types of interruption of the aortic arch, based on the location of the break in the aorta. After it closes, an infant with interruption of the aortic arch will quickly become very sick without medical intervention. This vessel exists in the fetus, but closes within hours or days of birth. The ductus arteriosus is an alternate route for oxygenated blood to reach the lower body. Arteries that deliver blood to the abdomen, legs, and other parts of the lower body branch off from the lower, descending aorta.Ī newborn can survive with a disconnection in the aorta as long as a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus remains open. Arteries that deliver blood to the head, arms and other parts of the upper body branch off at the top of the arch. From the heart, the aorta arches up and then curves around and down. The aorta starts at the left ventricle (lower chamber) of the heart as one large vessel and branches into smaller vessels to carry blood to different parts of the body. In a child with interruption of the aortic arch, there is a disconnection (a break) between the top part of the aortic arch and the lower, descending aorta. The aorta is the main artery that carries blood with oxygen out of the heart to the body.

Interrupted aortic arch support group