1-277.2:

Your heart has been examined.

There are usually 2 heart atria and 2 ventricles. Major, important blood vessels branch out of the heart. The main artery (aorta), originating from the left lower chamber (ventricle) of the heart, supplies the whole body with oxygen-rich blood. The right ventricle pumps oxygen-poor blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where the blood is then enriched with oxygen.

Your heart has a different structure to that of other people. So your blood is getting to your body in different ways than normal. Before a person is born, there is a connection between the pulmonary artery and the aorta. After being born, this connection usually closes up. In your case, the connection is still open. Your blood is flowing through this connection from the pulmonary artery to the aorta.

You had a heart catheter test. A catheter is a thin tube. This tube is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin or arm, and pushed further in. Various instruments can be pushed at the front of the tube. This enables the heart, and blood vessels to and from the heart, to be assessed. The testing enables an assessment of how the heart and lungs are working.