What is aortopulmonary window?

Also known as: APW, aortopulmonary septal defect, congenital heart defect, birth defect of the heart, aortopulmonary fenestration

Two of the major arteries of the heart are the pulmonary artery, which takes blood from the heart to the lungs, and the aorta, which takes blood from the heart to the body. When there is a hole that connects these two arteries to one another, this rare congenital (present at birth) heart abnormality is known as aortopulmonary window. In almost 50% of patients it occurs with other heart defects.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM