Symptoms of Double Outlet Right Ventricle
A wide range of heart problems fit into the category of double outlet right ventricle. Symptoms will vary from one kind of double outlet right ventricle to another.
In many patients, double outlet right ventricle allows oxygen-poor (blue) blood to leave the right ventricle through the aorta and get pumped out to your child’s body. So this heart defect causes symptoms linked to lower-than-normal oxygen supply.
Also, in children with double outlet right ventricle, the lungs may get more blood than usual. This can cause high blood pressure in the lungs and may lead to heart failure.
Your child may have symptoms like these:
- Bluish skin, lips or nailbeds (cyanosis) or pale skin
- Trouble feeding
- Failure to thrive
- Fast breathing or working hard to breathe
- Sweating more than normal
Double Outlet Right Ventricle Diagnosis
To diagnose this condition, your doctor will examine your child, check their heartbeat and listen to their heart. In children with double outlet right ventricle, doctors might be able to hear a heart murmur — the sound of blood moving in the heart in a way that’s not normal.
The doctor will ask for details about your child’s symptoms, their health history and your family health history.
Your child will also need tests that provide more information about how their heart looks and works. These may include a chest X-rays or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the heart, cardiac catheterization, echocardiography and electrocardiogram.