Eisenmenger Syndrome & Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease Long-term Effects of Hypoxemia in the Adult with CHD What the ICU Bedside Nurse Needs to Know

Eisenmenger syndrome is term used to describe a physiologic state that begins with the presence of a leftto-right shunt. This results in a net increase in pulmonary blood flow eventually leading to the development of pulmonary vascular disease and increased pulmonary vascular resistance. The increase in pulmonary vascular resistance results in a rise in pulmonary artery pressure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension causes reversal of flow through the shunt because right heart pressure exceeds left heart pressure and right-to-left shunting of blood occurs. With right-to-left shunting, de-oxygenated blood returning to the right side of the heart, passes through a communication such as a VSD or PDA to the left side of the heart and is pumped to the body resulting in cyanosis.