Congenital heart disease is an issue found in the structure of the heart by birth. It is also known as a congenital heart anomaly or a congenital heart defect. Congenital heart disease in infants symptoms and treatments depend on the type of problem in the heart which causes the disease.
Symptoms can vary from none to life-threatening. Let have a closer look at the symptoms.
Congenital heart disease in infants symptoms
Signs and symptoms cyanotic heart disease depends on type and severity of the heart defect. Usually, symptoms will start to show in early stages itself, but there are possibilities for some this heart disease to go undetected also.
Some visible symptoms are:
- Over sweating.
- Tiredness and fatigue.
- Poor feeding and malnutrition.
- rapid heartbeat and breathing.
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest pain.
- Bluish skin (cyanosis)
Congenital heart defects cause abnormal heart structure which causes productions of certain sounds from the heart, this is called heart murmur. however, not all heart murmurs are caused by congenital heart defects, it one among the symptoms.
Congenital heart failure diagnosis and treatment
We can identify the disease by close analysis of the symptoms. Apart from that x-ray and ECG can also be used for the disease diagnosis. And for accurate diagnosis echocardiogram is needed. An echocardiogram (also known as echo) is a type of ultrasound test. It uses a device called transducer for sending high-pitched sound waves.
The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off from different parts of the heart. In this way, an echocardiogram can be used for an accurate diagnosis of Congenital heart disease.
Sometimes congenital heart disease will improve without any treatments. Other defects are not much serious that they do not require any treatments. Most of the time cyanotic heart diseases are serious and requires surgery or medications depending on the type and severity.
Some of the suggested treatments for congenital heart failures include
- Surgical Treatment
- Cardiac catheterizations
- Heart transplantation
- Physical activities
A therapeutic cardiac catheterization is a method of treatment for congenital heart disease. A doctor will use special techniques and a thin plastic tube (similar to a spaghetti) or catheter that goes to the heart through blood vessels in the legs or the neck. This technique will allow treatment to be done without surgically opening of chest and heart.
The dark side of this disease is that the infected child might need to take lifelong specialized cardiac care. Initially with a pediatric cardiologist and later on with an adult congenital cardiologist. Statistics show that there are more than 1.8 million adults living with congenital heart diseases.
General recommendations for Heart Health
Now we have gone through the symptoms and treatments of congenital heart disease in infants. Apart from the above said, there are certain general recommendations which we should take seriously for maintaining a healthy heart.
- Balanced diet.
- Maintain body weight.
- Stay physically active, within the limits of directions from the cardiologist.
- Check cholesterol level periodically, especially if your family has a heart disease history.
- Avoid smoking or drugs. These behaviors are riskier for you than those who have a healthy heart.
- Get regular medical care from a primary physician. Even though you consult a cardiologist, you still need the care of a doctor who is in charge of all your medical care.
- Monitor dental health. Maintaining dental health minimizes the chance of infections which can affect your heart. Have antibiotics, based on the advice of the cardiologist and type of heart disease that you have.
Reference: http://www.heart.org/