Congenital Heart Disease

Transposition of the Great Arteries

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

A complete transposition usually is diagnosed shortly after birth due to the baby's increasing blue coloration or cyanosis. There may or may not be a heart murmur or extra sound in the heartbeat.

Tests may include:

• Oxygen saturation test
to check the level of oxygen in the blood
• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG), which records the heart's electrical activity
• Chest X-ray to see the heart's size
• Echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound examination of the heart

In addition, a cardiac catheterization procedure may be used to inject a dye into the heart and to see on a moving picture X-ray how the heart is functioning.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated February 6, 2008