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The recent on-pitch collapse of Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, whose life was saved by quick-thinking and treatment at the scene and in hospital, after his cardiac arrest, has served as a grim reminder of the reality that heart problems can strike at any time, no matter your apparent level of fitness or health.
Congenital heart disease in children, meaning those heart defects which are present from birth, is far more common than you may have realised. Indeed it’s the most common sort of birth defect, affecting six in every thousand newborns. Some 50% of these will need surgery straight after birth, the other half are likely to require drugs or surgery at some stage during their childhood.
But while it may sound scary, most children born with congenital heart disease go on to have healthy and active lives. And advances in modern medical technology have made this condition easier to live with than ever.
There are two main kinds of congenital heart disease: cyanotic, in which not enough oxygen is in the blood, and acyanotic, in which there is abnormal blood pumping, despite there being sufficient oxygen in the blood.
In the case of cyanotic heart disease, babies usually have blue digits and lips due to the lack of oxygen. Failure to thrive, tiredness, and breathlessness are also common symptoms.
With acyanotic heart disease, problems can arise over time, rather than there being any evident symptoms. However, some youngsters may complain of severe tiredness, chest pains, or a shortness of breath, especially when doing ordinary things like climbing stairs.
Common types include having a hole in the dividing wall between the left and right ventricles of the heart, or having an unusually narrow pulmonary valve. Both of these issues, combined with unusually thick muscles of the right ventricle, and a displaced aorta, are present in Tetralogy of Fallot, a common type of cyanotic heart disease.
With both types of congenital heart disease, poor appetites, feeding problems and sweating are common symptoms. While most cases of congenital heart disease have no clear cause, sometimes defects develop because of other issues, such as an infection in pregnancy, or a condition like
Down’s syndrome. Other risk factors include maternal diabetes, rubella, and maternal alcohol abuse.
Some children with congenital heart disease may have delayed development, taking longer to reach key developmental milestones like talking and walking, though the vast majority respond well to treatment.
Options for treatment can include the insertion of a catheter into the heart, allowing tools to be passed through it to repair the defects, to open heart surgery, and, in the most serious cases, a heart transplant.
Diagnosis can take place with a fetal echocardiography, but it more often occurs after a birth, sometimes several years onto a child’s life.
If your child has any of the symptoms mentioned above, discuss with your GP immediately. Thanks to sophisticated testing, such as echocardiograms and electrocardiograms, heart disease can speedily be confirmed or ruled out.
Especially if you fall into a high risk group, arm yourself with the facts about congenital heart disease in childhood, and you will be far better placed to help identify and fight it.
