Final answer:
Symptoms of valvular pulmonary stenosis include a heart murmur, fatigue, chest pain, palpitations, syncope, cyanosis, and poor weight gain in younger patients. Over time, the condition can lead to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and right-sided heart failure.
Step-by-step explanation:
Valvular pulmonary stenosis is a condition where the pulmonary valve is narrower than normal, impeding the flow of blood from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery. This can cause the heart to work harder and may lead to symptoms such as a heart murmur, detectable by auscultation, fatigue, chest pain, a feeling of rapid or irregular heartbeat (palpitations), or fainting spells (syncope). In infants and young children, symptoms can include a bluish color to the skin (cyanosis), especially on the lips and fingernails, and poor weight gain.
Advanced stages of the condition can lead to complications such as thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) due to the increased effort required to pump blood through the stenosed valve. If the condition becomes severe, it can lead to right ventricle hypertrophy and symptoms of right-sided heart failure, such as swelling in the legs and abdomen. A physical examination and listening to the heart sounds using a stethoscope, along with imaging techniques like echocardiography, are essential in diagnosing and monitoring the progression of valvular pulmonary stenosis.