Introduction
Diagnosis
Treatment
Vascular ring
Read about vascular rings, which are blood vessels arising from the heart that can surround, and compress (squeeze) nearby structures.
Key points
- A vascular ring is an abnormal blood vessel arising from the heart that develops in a fetus. It can encircle and compress nearby structures, such as the trachea or esophagus.
- A vascular ring can be difficult to diagnose because it is rare and does not cause symptoms typical of a heart condition.
- Children may have breathing and feeding problems caused by compression from the vascular ring.
- Children who have symptoms will have surgery to open up the ring.