Pulmonary Stenosis

Pulmonary stenosis is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve opening that increases resistance to blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries.

Pulmonary stenosis, which is rare among adults, is usually due to a birth defect (see Section 23, Chapter 265). When significant, it is usually diagnosed during childhood, because it produces a loud heart murmur. Severe pulmonary stenosis occasionally causes heart failure in children but often does not produce symptoms until adulthood.

Young children with this disorder often require heart surgery. In adults and older children, balloon valvuloplasty may be performed. In this procedure, the valve is stretched open using a balloon-tipped catheter threaded through a vein and eventually into the heart. Once inside the valve, the balloon is inflated, separating the valve leaflets.