In transposition of the great vessels the aorta gets its blood from the right side of the heart into which the caval veins enter, and the pulmonary artery arises from the left side of the heart, getting its blood from the lungs. The normal crossed circulation has changed into two parallel circulations, and the patient can live only if there are shunts between the two circulations. The interior ...

Ten children who had had transposition of the great vessels (TGV) repaired, deep hypothermia, and cardiac arrest were examined. Seven children with acyanotic heart disease and 12 unaffected siblings were tested for comparison. Their intelligence, academic achievement, and behaviour was studied. The group with TGV had lower performance subscores on the intelligence test, an increase in somatic c...