Condition: Truncus Arteriosus

Truncus arteriosus is a rare type of heart disease that is present at birth (congenital) in which there is a single main blood vessel, rather than the normal two, carrying blood away from the heart. Instead of having a separate pulmonary artery, to carry blood to the lungs, and aorta, to carry blood to the rest of the body, a baby with truncus arteriosus has just one blood vessel leaving the heart which then branches into other blood vessels. Blood from both ventricles of the heart is mixed, resulting in a situation in which some oxygen-rich blood travels needlessly back to the lungs and some oxygen-poor blood travels to the rest of the body. Babies with this condition may have a bluish tint (cyanosis) to their skin, lips, and fingernails. In most cases, truncus arteriosus occurs in conjunction with a missing upper portion of the wall between the ventricles of the heart (ventricular septal defect).