Interrupted aortic arch
medical condition
Interrupted aortic arch is a very rare heart defect (affecting 3 per million live births) in which the aorta is not completely developed. There is a gap between the ascending and descending thoracic aorta. In a sense it is the complete form of a coarctation of the aorta. Almost all patients also have other cardiac anomalies, including a ventricular septal defect (VSD), aorto-pulmonary window, and truncus arteriosus. There are three types of interrupted aortic arch, with type B being the most common. Interrupted aortic arch (especially Type B) is often associated with DiGeorge syndrome.
Signs and symptoms
Patients with an interrupted aortic arch usually have symptoms from birth, with nearly all presenting symptoms within two weeks (when the ductus arteriosus is usually closed).
Causes
It is thought that an interrupted aortic arch occurs through excessive apoptosis in the developing, embryonic aorta. Around 50% of patients have DiGeorge syndrome.
Diagnosis
It can be diagnosed with a standard echocardiogram.
The public source identifies “Interrupted aortic arch” as medical condition. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Interrupted, aortic and arch.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Interrupted aortic arch”, the useful work is to connect “medical condition” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6056643. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Interrupted aortic arch”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Interrupted aortic arch primary sources, Interrupted aortic arch archive and Interrupted research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Interrupted aortic arch”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Interrupted aortic arch” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.