Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a medical condition in which the ductus arteriosus fails to close

after birth: this allows a portion of oxygenated bloodfrom the left heart to flow back to the lungs by
flowing from the aorta, which has a higher pressure, to the pulmonary artery. Symptoms are uncommon
at birth and shortly thereafter, but later in the first year of life there is often the onset of an
increased work of breathing and failure to gain weight at a normal rate. With time, an uncorrected PDA
usually leads to pulmonary hypertension followed by right-sided heart failure.

The ductus arteriosus is a fetal blood vessel that normally closes soon after birth. In a PDA, the vessel
does not close, but remains patent (open), resulting in an abnormal transmission of blood from
the aorta to the pulmonary artery. PDA is common in newborns with persistent respiratory problems
such as hypoxia, and has a high occurrence in premature newborns. Premature newborns are more
likely to be hypoxic and have PDA due to underdevelopment of the heart and lungs.

If transposition of the great vessels is present in addition to a PDA, the PDA is not surgically closed since
it is the only way that oxygenated blood can mix with deoxygenated blood. In these
cases, prostaglandins are used to keep the PDA open, andNSAIDs are not administered until surgical
correction of the two defects is completed.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_ductus_arteriosus