In a baby with interrupted aortic arch, if the duct closes, blood can no longer reach the lower body. One or two days after birth, this vessel usually closes on its own. Prior to birth, this small blood vessel permits blood to by-pass the baby’s fluid-filled lungs. In newborns with interrupted aortic arch, the only way for blood to bypass the blockage is via the patent ductus arteriosus (4). In most babies with interrupted aortic arch (70-90%) there is also a large ventricular septal defect (3). The site of the defect varies (2) and may or may not involve the take-off of the head and neck vessels. This means that there is no direct way for red blood leaving the heart to reach the body parts that are "downstream" from the blockage. In babies with interrupted aortic arch, there is a complete blockage between the ascending and the descending aorta (1). These vessels are called the innominate artery (4), the left carotid artery (5), and the left subclavian artery (6). Three blood vessels exit from the aortic arch and supply the head and arms with red blood. The aorta then curves downward towards the lower body, and this part is called the descending aorta (3). It then curves leftward forming the aortic arch (2). The first part of the aorta, called the ascending aorta (1) arises upwards. The aorta is the large blood vessel that arises from the left side of the normal heart and takes red blood out to the body. It usually occurs along with other heart problems such as truncus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, transposition of the great arteries, and aortic stenosis. It comprises about 1% of all congenital heart defects. Interrupted aortic arch is a very rare heart defect that occurs when the aorta does not develop normally while the baby is in the mother’s womb.
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