Statistics
Treatment
- Approximately 25% of untreated patients with TOF die within the first year of life, 40% by 4 years, 70% by 10 years, and 95% by 40 years.
- Occurs in less than 1 in 2000 live births. Nonetheless, Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect.
You can help lessen the effects of TOF by
following some of these choices:
- Use an oxygen mask to help deliver more oxygen to your blood. This can minimize effects of TOF.
- Open Heart surgery can completely repair TOF. There are two types of surgery, complete intracardic repair and temporary or palliative surgery.
What is TOF?
A rare heart disease that is caused by a combination of 4 heart defects that are present at birth. These defects, which affect the structure of the heart, cause oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body.
Symptoms
- A bluish coloration of the skin caused by blood low in oxygen
- Irritability
- Fainting
- Clubbing of fingers and toes — an abnormal, rounded shape of the nail bed
- A heart murmur
Answers
Tetralogy of Fallot
1. 2-4 months
2. True
3. True
Bennett, Cara, Dumebi, & Dylan
Normal vs TOF
Causes
TOF occurs during fetal growth, when the baby's heart is developing.
Factors include:
- poor maternal nutrition
- viral illness
- genetic disorders
- maternal alcoholism
- advanced maternal age (over the age of 40)
**In most cases the cause of Tetralogy of Fallot is unknown.**
Test Questions
The 4 Heart Defects
Tet Spells
1. What age are Tet spells most common?
2. True or false: Is a heart murmur a symptom of TOF?
3. True or False: TOF occurs in less than 1 in 2000 live births.
- A large Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) -- hole in the wall that separates the two chambers on the left and right side causing blood to mix
- Pulmonary Stenosis -- the pulmonary valve cannot fully open and this causes the heart o work harder to pump blood through the valve
- Right Ventricular Hypertrophy-- muscle of the right ventricle is thicker than usual because of the Pulmonary Stentosis
- An Overriding Aorta-- aorta is usually attached to the left ventricle but in TOF the aorta is between the left an right ventricle , directly over the VSD causing oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle to go into the aorta instead of the pulmonary artery.
- Babies with TOF may experience at Tet Spell.
- This is when the skin of the baby turns a dark bluish color on their skin, nails, and lips after they are done crying, feeding, or kicking it's legs when it wakening up.
- This is due to the fast decrease in oxygen in the blood.
- Most common in young infants, around 2 to 4 months