Tetralogy
Tetralogy is a fancy word that means something is made up of four different parts. Imagine a puzzle that you have to put together, but instead of just being one big puzzle piece, it's made up of four smaller puzzle pieces.
When doctors talk about tetralogy, they usually mean a type of heart problem that is made up of four different parts. These four parts are all things that can go wrong in a baby's heart while they're developing inside their mommy's belly.
The four parts of tetralogy are:
1. A big hole between the two main chambers of the heart
2. A thick muscle that's blocking one of the blood vessels that leads from the heart
3. Another blood vessel that's connected to the wrong chamber of the heart
4. A narrowed blood vessel that doesn't let enough blood flow to the lungs
All of these things can make it really hard for the heart to work properly and get enough oxygen all around the body. Doctors can sometimes fix these problems with surgery, so that the heart can work better and the baby can grow up healthy and strong.
When doctors talk about tetralogy, they usually mean a type of heart problem that is made up of four different parts. These four parts are all things that can go wrong in a baby's heart while they're developing inside their mommy's belly.
The four parts of tetralogy are:
1. A big hole between the two main chambers of the heart
2. A thick muscle that's blocking one of the blood vessels that leads from the heart
3. Another blood vessel that's connected to the wrong chamber of the heart
4. A narrowed blood vessel that doesn't let enough blood flow to the lungs
All of these things can make it really hard for the heart to work properly and get enough oxygen all around the body. Doctors can sometimes fix these problems with surgery, so that the heart can work better and the baby can grow up healthy and strong.