Types, signs and treatment of congenital heart defects
Among the most frequently diagnosed congenital pathologies are heart defects. They appear in the first days of a child's life. However, when carrying out an ultrasound examination of the fetus with modern equipment at the stage of its bearing, the diagnosis can be earlier. Treatment of congenital heart defects can take years, but it often ends successfully.
Causes of congenital heart disease in children
The correct operation of the heart is determined by its correct structure, therefore the causes of congenital heart disease in children lie in the violation of the formation of the organ during intrauterine development. Factors that can provoke the disease include:
- viral diseases of the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy - for example, flu or rubella;
- alcohol and drug addiction of the mother/father;
- use of certain medications during pregnancy (the risk is especially high in the first trimester);
- endocrine diseases in the father/mother;
- late pregnancy;
- heredity.
Often, congenital heart defects belong to genetic abnormalities - such a conclusion can be made if children with a similar pathology were previously born in the family. The final conclusion according to the geneticist.
How congenital heart defects are detected
There are more than a hundred types of this pathology, the classification of heart defects is extensive. For example, blue and white heart defects are distinguished: for the former, a characteristic feature is bluishness of the skin, for the latter, its pronounced pallor. Symptoms of problems with the structure of the main organ may appear even during intrauterine development. Signs of a fetal heart defect on ultrasound can be the basis for artificial termination of pregnancy and for providing qualified medical care to an unborn child.
If no abnormalities were detected before the birth of the child, then a heart defect can be diagnosed in newborns based on the following symptoms:
- after birth, the baby has a pronounced bluish or pale shade of the skin of the face, auricles and upper limbs;
- blueness of the skin appears when the newborn cries/screams or during feeding;
- the child's extremities are always cold.
When examining the baby, the pediatrician can detect heart murmurs. And although this is not a characteristic sign of pathology, additional studies will be conducted to clarify the diagnosis.
Often after birth, the child develops within the normal range and doctors do not detect any signs of heart failure. This development of the situation is characteristic of abnormalities in the development of the valve system. Symptoms of heart valve disease often appear around the age of 10 in a child:
- shortness of breath appears;
- the child lags behind in physical development;
- periodically the skin of the face acquires a bluish tint.
Heart disease in a newborn baby can also manifest as heart failure - this is a very dangerous condition, which in most cases leads to death.
Types of heart defects
Aortic and mitral heart disease are most often diagnosed in newborns. In the first case, the cause of the pathology may be the absence of one of the leaflets of the valve or its dystrophy. Aortic heart disease is often diagnosed only at the age of 10. The pathology belongs to the category of congenital, and no symptoms are detected until now.
Mitral heart disease is diagnosed in the fetal period. This allows the surgeon to perform an operation with special endovascular instruments even before the baby is born or immediately after it is born.
It is worth mentioning separately rheumatic heart disease - a type of pathology that develops due to the presence of rheumatism in the mother and the lack of competent treatment before the onset of pregnancy. As a rule, rheumatism negatively affects the formation of aortic valves - they are deformed or holes may appear in them (normally this should not happen).
Treatment of heart defects
For suspicion of pathology in a newborn child, the diagnosis of heart malformations consists in conducting a tomography and an electrocardiogram. The obtained results will enable doctors to assess the "scale" of the problem and choose an effective treatment.
As a rule, surgical treatment is prescribed during diagnosis - surgical operations for heart defects are the only way to ensure a full life for a child and an adult in the future. Modern methods and equipment make it possible to carry out even the most complex operations, including the "implantation" of an artificial valve, if it is not subject to "restoration". It is noteworthy that disability in case of heart disease is not given to all patients - the general condition and results of surgical treatment are taken into account, as well as the probability of recurrence. Of course, patients with such a pathology (even in the case of a successfully performed operation) should limit physical activity and undergo regular preventive examinations, thus preventing the development of complications.
Complete information about congenital heart defects is available from the specialists of our clinic. You can find out details and get answers to your questions, including how long people with heart disease live, on the pages of our website https://dobrobut.com/.
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