ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Updated on November 1, 2012

Congenital Heart Disease

I was born with Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) contrary to its abbreviation (public display of affection) I do not deliberately show off my emotions but it does affect it lol. Anyway to explain further on my own words, this type of heart disease is usually found in new born babies. To define each word of it would be Patent - open, Ductus Arteriosus -Blood Vessel. This open blood vessel is always open when the fetus is inside the womb. This however should close in a couple of day upon birth.

Unfortunately for me it was only discovered when I was 7 years old. Why, well let's just say we used to live in a rural area that having a telephone is a major electronic wonder. Although at age 5 we moved to Dubai, UAE and that's where we all got our healthcare benefits organized, still it took another 2 years to find out about it.

The way I remember it, I was sick for like over a month with the flu, bad cough, temperature and all. My parents have brought me from one doctor to another when finally an Iranian doctor said he could hear murmurs while i breathed. After a lot of tests it was confirmed that I indeed have a heart disease and that I needed a major heart operation.

My parents decided to go back home to the Philippines because we did have a Heart Center. After a chest x-ray and an ecg it was indeed concluded I had PDA. As I recall my Pediatric-Cardiologist said I will not have the surgery right away I don't exactly know why until now. I read it wasn't usually needed right away if the baby has other complications which leaving it open might be helpful at the moment. Still I was already 7 years old. I guess I probably had a lot of complications.

Years past before my doctor decided I can no longer go on without having the surgery. I was 15 years old when I did it; but the 8 years I waited was excruciatingly difficult. I was always sick, like always. Whether it was a cold, a cough, a fever, occasional bronchitis etc. I was not really allowed to go out much because the fear of getting exposed to viruses or bacteria. In short it was hard!

Now that I am a mother and the trauma of being a sick child just bothers me all the time especially when it comes to my kids being sick. Every time I was pregnant I would always tell my doctor that I had PDA and that my baby should be tested always. I am a lucky mother, having 3 boys and all healthy with no trace of any kind of health problems. I guess I was just the one who had to deal with a lot of health issues. Still lucky I am alive.

How to detect PDA?

  1. Make sure you bring your baby to their follow-up check up after delivery.
  2. Check if your baby seems like have short breathes when crying.
  3. Make sure your baby's monthly check-ups are followed accordingly.
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)