Aortopulmonary Window: A Rare Cardiac Anomaly Presenting in Adolescent Age Group

• Main Authors: Neeraj K Ganju, Arvind Kandoria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: Heart India
• Subjects: Aortopulmonary window; congenital heart defects; pulmonary hypertension
• Online Access: http://www.heartindia.net/article.asp?issn=2321-449x;year=2015;volume=3;issue=3;spage=87;epage=89;aulast=Ganju

Aortopulmonary window (APW) is an extremely rare cardiac malformation accounting for 0.2-0.6% of all congenital heart defects. In an acyanotic patient with clinical evidence of patent ductus arteriosus with large left to right shunts and systolic rather than continuous murmur one should keep in mind the possibility of APW. If not treated early in childhood or adolescence, they tend to develop pulmonary hypertension, which can be fatal in almost all cases. Few surviving adult patients have symptoms associated with severe pulmonary hypertension, making these cases inoperable. We document an unusual case presenting in the second decade.