My Miracle Anniek Who Has Tetralogy Of Fallot: September 2010

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lung Scan is...DONE

and now we have to wait for the results. Anniek flipped out as soon as we got in the room for the Lung Scan because she knew what was coming as we talked about what was going to happen and she knew that they needed to give her a needle with dye in it. Well it took 6 people to hold her down for the needle to get the needle into her. After that I got her calmed down and laying down on the table then they moved the "camera" close to her (it has to be about an inch away from her for the scan) when the camera got close to her she rolled over towards me. I talked to her and told her that she needed to stay still so that the pictures of her lungs could be taken. She laid back down but when they moved the "camera" close to Anniek again she moved and started crying. So one of the staff went out and got a special back board that had a 3 strips of material attached to it so that they could wrap her onto it so that she couldn't move every time they brought the "camera" close to her. Anniek stopped crying as soon as we left that part of the hospital. I am glad that this test is done with. Now its just the wait for the results.

Anniek's Heart

Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect (a problem with the heart's structure that's present at birth). Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart. This is a rare and complex heart defect. Tetralogy of Fallot is made up of four different heart defects that are:

Ventricular Septal Defect

The heart has a wall that separates the chambers on its left side from those on its right side. This wall is called a septum. The septum prevents blood from mixing between the two sides of the heart. A VSD is a hole in the part of the septum that separates the ventricles—the lower chambers of the heart. The hole allows oxygen‑rich blood to flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricle instead of flowing into the aorta, the main artery leading out to the body.

Pulmonary Stenosis

This is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve and the passageway through which blood flows from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries. Normally, oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle flows through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary arteries and out to the lungs to pick up oxygen. In pulmonary stenosis, the heart has to work harder than normal to pump blood, and not enough blood can get to the lungs.

Right Ventricular Hypertrophy

This is when the right ventricle thickens because the heart has to pump harder than it should to move blood through the narrowed pulmonary valve.

Overriding Aorta

This is a defect in the location of the aorta. In a healthy heart, the aorta is attached to the left ventricle, allowing only oxygen-rich blood to go to the body. In tetralogy of Fallot, the aorta is between the left and right ventricles, directly over the VSD. As a result, oxygen‑poor blood from the right ventricle can flow directly into the aorta instead of into the pulmonary artery to the lungs.

An Extra Heart Condition That Anniek Has Is Left Pulmonary Artery Stenosis

Pulmonary Artery Stenosis

Pulmonary artery stenosis is a narrowing that occurs in the pulmonary artery, a large artery that sends oxygen-poor blood into the lungs to be enriched with oxygen. The narrowing may occur in the main pulmonary artery and/or in the left or right pulmonary artery branches. This narrowing makes it difficult for blood to reach the lungs to pick up oxygen. Without enough oxygen, the heart and body cannot function as they should. In an effort to overcome the narrowing, the pressure in the right ventricle (the chamber that pumps blood into the pulmonary arteries) rises to levels that can be damaging to the heart muscle.

My Miracle Anniek Who Has Tetralogy Of Fallot

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lung Scan is...DONE

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