Introduction
The importance of acquiring an understanding of the pulmonary circulation and lung function has become increasingly apparent in the diagnosis and treatment of children with congenital heart disease (1). Complicating heart failure and pneumonia are related to pulmonary blood flow in patients with left-to-right shunts. Outcome after surgical repair is dependent in many cases on the status of the pulmonary vascular bed (2).
This study was designed to determine whether alterations in ventilatory function reflect changes in the pulmonary vasculature and altered blood flow to the lungs.
Sixty-two children from six to 17 years of age were studied. All were admitted to the pediatric service at the UCLA Medical Center either for cardiac catheterization or surgical correction of congenital heart defects. None was in congestive failure at the time of study. There were 14 patients with ventricular septal defects (VSD), 16 with atrial septal defects (ASD), six with lesions causing right-to-left shunts (mainly tetralogy), 18 with various other congenital abnormalities (including patient ductus arteriosus, aortic stenosis, pulmonic stenosis, atrio-ventricular canal, and acyanotic tetralogy), and eight with innocent functional murmurs. Diagnosis were established at right heart catheterization and/or surgery. ....

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