Your child’s diagnosis
Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC)
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How blood flows
Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection
The same region in both views. The usual view is a comparison, not a treatment result.
TAPVC · a supracardiac example
- Less oxygen
- Mixed blood
- More oxygen
Step 1 of 4
Pulmonary venous return
Oxygenated blood returns from the lungs through pulmonary veins into a collecting vein.
How to read this map
Follow the arrows to see connections. This is a map, not the shape or position of a heart. Both sides work together; the story follows one part at a time. A crossing with a white gap is not a connection; a dot marks a junction. With story controls focused, use left/right arrows, Home or End.
Also called TAPVR. This map shows one supracardiac route. Other types connect elsewhere; narrowing or obstruction can occur and needs individual assessment.
Colours describe this example: blue means less oxygen, red more oxygen, and purple mixing. Blood is always red in real life. Line widths and animation do not measure flow, pressure, oxygen saturation or severity.
The RV–PA–lungs loop stays visible as context. Arrow width does not show the amount taking each route.
The collector and vertical vein are grouped in one vein node; they are vessels, not a heart chamber.
Diagram sources and scope
Also called TAPVR. This map shows one supracardiac route. Other types connect elsewhere; narrowing or obstruction can occur and needs individual assessment.
Original Heart Up Close connection map · Source check: 26 October 2026 · Independent clinical review pending.
Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection
- Pulmonary venous return. Oxygenated blood returns from the lungs through pulmonary veins into a collecting vein.
- An anomalous supracardiac route. In this example the collecting and vertical vein route leads to an upper systemic vein instead of directly to the LA.
- Body and lung returns mix before the RA. Lung blood meets returning body blood in the upper systemic venous pathway. Mixed blood enters the RA.
- Atrial crossing allows body supply. Some mixed blood crosses the atrial opening to the LA, then passes through the LV to the body. The right-side lung route remains visible.
Also called TAPVR. This map shows one supracardiac route. Other types connect elsewhere; narrowing or obstruction can occur and needs individual assessment.
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Diagnosis and care
Diagnosis and tests
TAPVC can be hard to see during pregnancy. After birth, low oxygen levels, fast breathing, poor feeding or slow weight gain may lead to tests. A baby with a blocked or narrowed route can become very unwell quickly. The team needs to find where the lung veins connect and whether blood can pass freely.
An echocardiogram, or echo, is an ultrasound scan of the heart. It looks for the lung veins and the opening between the upper chambers. Oxygen measurements and examinations help show the effects on the baby. Other scans may be needed if the route is unclear. Ask the team to show where blood comes back from each lung and where it enters the heart.
Care and follow-up
Surgery connects the route from the lung veins to the left atrium. The surgeon also deals with the opening between the upper chambers as needed. A narrowed or blocked route needs urgent treatment. Other cases also need specialist surgery planning. The baby may need breathing and blood-flow support around the operation. Ask how the team is supporting the baby now and what surgery will change.
Recovery depends on where the veins connect, any narrowing and the health of the lungs. Other health problems also matter. After repair, scans check that blood can still pass freely through the lung veins. Narrowing can develop and need more tests or treatment. Ask what the results mean for your child. Another baby’s recovery cannot predict theirs.
Daily life
Ask how follow-up scans will be organised and what changes should prompt contact after leaving hospital. If your baby needs longer breathing support, ask the team to explain the current reason and next goals. Request practical support for travel and staying near the hospital.
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Questions to ask
Save the questions you want to take to your next appointment. You can edit them in your Journal.
- Where do the veins from our child’s lungs connect, and could you show us how that differs from the usual route?
- Is the route from the lung veins narrowed or blocked, and how does that affect the urgency of treatment?
- What will the operation reconnect, and could you show us how blood is expected to flow afterwards?
- What breathing support does our child need now, and how will you decide when that support can be reduced?
- How will you check the lung veins after repair, and what changes would lead to further tests or treatment?
Sources and review
Sources checked 9 October 2026. Independent clinical review pending.
- Children’s Heart Federation: Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (APVC) Information Sheet
Accessed 9 October 2026
- Children’s Health Queensland: Total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (TAPVD)
Accessed 9 October 2026