Sometimes tetralogy of Fallot goes undiagnosed for several months to a year. Diagnosing conditions such as tetralogy of Fallot is one of the goals of routine checkups with your doctor. Take your child to his or her health care provider if the child develops a bluish color, has breathing difficulties, seizures, fainting, fatigue, slow growth, or developmental delay. A medical professional should establish the cause of these problems.
If you cannot reach your child's health care provider or if the child develops any of the following symptoms, take the child to a hospital emergency department right away:
If your child starts to turn blue, place the child on his or her back in the knee-to-chest position and call 911 or your local emergency number.
Your health care provider should schedule regular follow-up visits for your child. At these visits, the child should be checked for abnormal heart rhythms, which may develop in children who have undergone surgical correction for tetralogy of Fallot.
After successful surgery, children generally don't have any symptoms and lead normal lives with few, if any, restrictions. However, the surgery itself may have some long-term complications. These include the following: