Familial patent ductus arteriosus. Report of a family.

Three female patients of two generations in one family each had patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) that was proved by echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Two of them received surgical ligation of the PDA because of large left to right shunt (Qp/Qs of 3.8 and 2.7, respectively), while the third patient with a Qp/Qs of 1.2 was not operated. Although the exact cause of PDA in this family is unclear, an autosomal recessive inheritance is highly possible.