What is peripheral pulmonary stenosis?

Also known as: pulmonary branch stenosis, branch pulmonary artery stenosis, PPS.

The pulmonary arteries are the blood vessels that carrying blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation and removal of carbon dioxide. When one or more of the branches of the pulmonary arteries are narrowed the condition is known as peripheral pulmonary stenosis.
 

What causes peripheral pulmonary stenosis? 

Sometimes peripheral pulmonary stenosis occurs as a complication of a congenital heart defect, or part of a genetic syndrome or may be associated with a congenital rubella infection.
 

What are the signs/symptoms of peripheral pulmonary stenosis? 

In newborns ( particularly babies born prematurely ) with otherwise normal hearts, mild PPS diagnosed by your pediatric cardiologist hearing a heart murmur, may be an incidental finding, cause no symptoms and may resolve on its own by the time your baby reaches 6-12 months of age.
Rarely, peripheral pulmonary stenosis may be more severe, get worse over time and lead to breathing difficulties, rapid heartbeat, swelling and fatigue.
 

What are peripheral pulmonary stenosis care options?

Most babies with PPS will require no treatment. If more severe, dilatation using a balloon catheter threaded through a vein may be all that is needed.

Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

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

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