What are the common symptoms of truncus arteriosus?

Fast breathing: When children are born with this, they can appear quite healthy. Over the first days to weeks of life, patients breath rapidly as more blood floods the lungs. They have difficulty eatting and gaining weight.. All of these patients require surgery.

Heart failure. : The more common symptoms associated with truncus are heart failure related. Basically, since the pulmonary arteries are coming off directly from the aorta, the lungs are receiving more blood than they should. This causes the left side of the heart to have to work more to pump the extra blood and at the same time the lungs to be more fluid filled and more stiff. Breathing becomes more labored.