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Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is a common congenital cardiac condition in which the ductus arteriosus, a normal foetal blood channel between the aorta and pulmonary artery, does not close after delivery. In healthy babies, this channel shuts within days of birth as the lungs take up oxygenation; in PDA, “patent” indicates it remains unusually open.

A persistent PDA results in a left-to-right shunt. Oxygen-rich blood from the aorta recirculates to the pulmonary artery. This overloads the lungs and increases the strain of the heart. This condition can cause tachypnea, poor eating, failure to thrive, and recurrent chest infections in newborns. Larger abnormalities may lead to congestive heart failure. Small PDAs may be asymptomatic for years and may be diagnosed only in adulthood.

PDA is more common in preterm infants and those with respiratory distress syndrome but can also develop in term infants and with some hereditary disorders. The diagnosis is based on a clinical examination (a kind of machinery murmur), an echocardiogram, and sometimes a chest X-ray demonstrating cardiomegaly or pulmonary congestion.

Management varies from cautious waiting for tiny, silent PDAs to pharmacological therapy (eg, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen) in select premature newborns or interventional closure (catheter-based device occlusion or surgical ligation) when haemodynamically significant. Closing early frequently prevents long-term problems like pulmonary hypertension and endocarditis.