pulmonary artery sling pulmonary artery sling pulmonary artery sling is a rare condition in which the blood vessels between the heart and the lungs have formed incorrectly before birth. it is a type of cardiovascular condition called a vascular ring.the main treatment is surgery. pulmonary artery slingspecialtycardiovascular symptoms and signs symptoms include cyanosis, dyspnoea and apnoeic spells. rarely it is asymptomatic and is detected incidentally in asymptomatic adults. cause in pulmonary artery sling, the left pulmonary artery anomalously originates from a normally positioned right pulmonary artery. the left pulmonary artery arises anterior to the right main bronchus near its origin from the trachea, courses between the trachea and the esophagus and enters the left hilum. treatment it almost always requires surgical intervention. the surgery is usually open heart surgery with an incision through the sternum. history the first known case of pulmonary artery sling was diagnosed and surgically repaired by willis j. potts at lurie children's hospital in 1953.