Vascular rings are a congenital abnormality of the aorta that can put pressure on the windpipe and esophagus, causing symptoms such as difficulty breathing and swallowing. Surgery is the recommended treatment, and it is a relatively low-risk procedure. Vascular rings are usually diagnosed when people are very young.
A vascular ring is a congenital abnormality of the aorta, one of the body’s key blood vessels. In people with vascular rings, the aorta and its blood vessels did not form as expected during fetal development. Instead, a blood vessel wraps around the windpipe and esophagus, putting pressure on these structures. There are several types of vascular rings, all named after the specific malformations involved, and the abnormality can be partial or total.
When fetuses are developing, their bodies go through a number of changes as the body develops tissue that will be reused in various ways. Occasionally, errors occur during this process and a structure is displaced or retained, leading to abnormalities such as vascular rings. This can occur very early in fetal development and appears to be a random condition rather than something that is the result of genetic or environmental factors.
Some patients have a vascular ring and experience no symptoms. Others have heavy, labored breathing and experience choking and difficulty swallowing. These symptoms are caused by blockage or compression created by the vascular ring. Vascular rings occur in people of all races and both genders, and there are no obvious risk factors for this relatively unusual heart abnormality.
In some patients, the vascular ring leads to pulse changes that can lead a doctor to the fact that the patient is experiencing a heart problem. In other cases, the vascular ring is revealed on an upper chest medical imaging study. If a patient has a vascular ring and is experiencing symptoms, the recommended treatment is surgery to divide the vascular ring and relieve the pressure.
The surgery is performed by a heart surgeon. It is a relatively low risk for most patients and leads doctors to recommend surgery with a wait-and-see approach to treat the ring as early and effectively as possible. After having surgery to repair a vascular ring, the patient will need to spend several days in the hospital and may need to observe home precautions for several weeks as they recover. Once the patient is fully healed, the repaired ring should pose no obstacle to activities.
Doctors have noticed this abnormality since the 1700s. Vascular rings are usually diagnosed when people are very young. Parents who are told to take their infants and toddlers to a cardiologist for further evaluation for a suspected heart abnormality shouldn’t panic. Heart disease takes a wide range of forms and many are very manageable.
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