Congenital Heart Disease

Truncus Arteriosus

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of truncus arteriosus in confirmed with an echocardiogram, a procedure similar to an X-ray that uses sound waves to create a picture of the baby's heart. Sometimes, doctors may need to insert dye into the baby's heart through a thin flexible tube called a catheter in order to determine the exact shape of the truncus. The catheter usually is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and then threaded up into the heart.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007