Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a rare finding in adults. The ductus arteriosus (DA) is responsible for shunting blood from the pulmonary artery into the aorta bypassing the lungs in fetal life (the placenta is responsible for fetal oxygenated blood). Its closure happens after birth, once fetal circulation transitions to normal postnatal circulation and blood oxygenates in the lungs. If the DA does not close, the PDA may continue to shunt blood from the systemic (higher pressure) to the pulmonary (lower pressure) circulation causing remodeling of the left ventricle and eventually heart failure. A PDA is suspected when there is a systolic/diastolic murmur in the left sternal border; a transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiogram may visualize the shunt and measure the systemic/pulmonary shunt ratio. We described a case of an 84-year-old elderly woman who presented with an acute heart failure exacerbation as the first symptom of PDA and was found to have left ventricular hypertrophy, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary hypertension as the initial presentation.
Keywords: congenital heart disease; echocardiography; elderly; heart failure; patent ductus arteriosus; pda.
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