Heart disease is not just a health problem seen in adults. Many different heart diseases can also be seen in infants and children. Heart diseases seen in infants and children can be congenital, that is, congenital, or may occur later.
What are Congenital (Congenital) Heart Diseases?
Congenital heart disease or congenital heart defect is a congenital abnormality in the heart. This abnormality may be in the heart valves, the walls of the heart, or the main vessels that exit the heart. Disorders in heart structures are different. While some congenital defects do not cause a serious health problem, others may have life-threatening serious consequences.
Congenital heart diseases are a group formed by many diseases. These diseases can be divided into three main parts according to the location of the structural anomaly in the heart:
1) Heart Valve Diseases: Valves determine the direction of blood flow in the heart and prevent the blood pumped to the body from escaping back to the heart. When there is a defect in the heart valves, the heart cannot properly pump blood to the body. Heart valve diseases in infants can lead to the development of serious complications.
2) Heart Wall Diseases: The circulatory system of the baby in the womb develops in harmony with the placenta. In unborn babies, the walls between the chambers of the heart are not completely closed and blood can move through the chambers. However, when the baby is born, it separates from the placenta and starts to breathe on its own. In this process, the walls between the heart chambers must be closed by adapting to the new situation. In some babies, this closure does not occur and causes problems in the heart circulation. The larger the part that does not close between the chambers, the greater the problems seen in the baby. Defects such as atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus; are examples of heart wall diseases.
3) Blood Vessel Diseases: Problems seen in the vessels that bring blood from the body to the heart or that carry blood from the heart to the body can negatively affect the function of the heart.
Some babies can be seen together in different groups. For example, as the Tetralogy of Fallot in known congenital heart disease in the baby's heart;
- Hole in the wall between the chambers
- Stenosis between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery (the vessel that carries blood to the lungs)
- Thickening in the right wall of the heart
- There are 4 different defects, including misplaced aorta.
Congenital heart diseases can also be divided into cyanotic and acyanotic. In both groups of diseases, there is a problem in the functions of the heart. The main difference between the two groups is that the oxygen level in the blood is low in cyanotic diseases, while the oxygen level in the blood is normal in cyanotic diseases. Babies with cyanotic conditions may show symptoms such as shortness of breath and bruising on the lips and face. Babies with acyanotic disease do not show these symptoms because the oxygen level in their blood is normal. However, these babies may have health problems such as high blood pressure later in life.
In addition to congenital heart diseases, subsequent heart diseases can also be seen in infants and children. Acquired heart diseases that occur in children are as follows:
- Arrhythmias: When the cabinet does not beat in a certain rhythm, it is called arrhythmia. Arrhythmias can adversely affect heart function. Different tube arrhythmias may occur in children, such as tachycardia (fast heartbeat), bradycardia (slow heartbeat), long Q-T syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
- Kawasaki Disease: Kawasaki disease; It causes inflammation in the veins, especially in the hands, feet, mouth and throat. This disease can also cause symptoms such as swelling of the lymph nodes and fever. Kawasaki, which is especially seen in children under the age of 5, can affect the coronary arteries that feed the heart and impair heart health.
- Murmur: Murmurs occur as a result of the movement of blood in the heart between the chambers. It is usually necessary to use a stethoscope to hear the heart murmur. Conditions such as congenital heart diseases, fever, anemia may cause a murmur in the heart. Babies and children may have 'innocent' murmurs that go away on their own over time. Therefore, a child with a murmur should be checked and whether the murmur is due to illness or an 'innocent' murmur� It should be determined whether it is μm.
- Pericarditis: Pericardium is the name given to the membrane surrounding the heart and this structure consists of two layers. Pericarditis develops when the pericardium becomes infected or inflamed. In the case of pericarditis, an excessive amount of fluid accumulates between the layers of the pericardium. The accumulated fluid reduces the heart's ability to pump blood. Pericarditis; Rheumatic Heart Diseases: Diseases such as pharyngitis and scarlet fever caused by Streptococcus bacteria may cause the development of rheumatic heart disease. In rheumatic heart diseases, permanent damage occurs in the heart valves and heart muscle. Throat infections caused by Streptococcus bacteria should be treated with antibiotics to prevent rheumatic heart diseases. Early diagnosis and treatment is very important in rheumatic heart diseases observed in school-age children (5-10 years old). Since it is common in our country, cardiological examination of every 7-year-old child is important in terms of minimizing the damage of the disease.
- Viral Infections: Viruses that cause respiratory tract infections such as influenza can also affect the heart muscle. This condition, called myocarditis, leads to a decrease in the force of contraction of the heart.
What are the Symptoms of Heart Disease in Babies?
The question 'How to detect heart disease in babies?' is one of the most frequently asked questions by parents. Congenital heart diseases are usually noticed during pregnancy controls. Findings such as the heartbeat of the baby in the womb and ultrasound images help to diagnose the disease in the heart. Sometimes, heart diseases are recognized by the symptoms seen in babies after birth.
Children What Are the Symptoms of Heart Disease in Babies?
Heart diseases in babies and children cause similar symptoms. Children have the following symptoms of both congenital and acquired heart diseases:
· Easy fatigue · Pale skin · Fluid collection in hands, arms and legs, edema · Dizziness · Cardiac arrhythmia · Fainting · Shortness of breath · Developmental delay.
' There may be parents who wonder how to detect heart disease in children. Children who show one or more of the above-mentioned symptoms must be taken to the doctor and have the necessary health checks done.
How to Treat Congenital Heart Diseases?
Treatment of congenital heart diseases; It is done by considering factors such as the extent of the damage to the heart, the age and general condition of the child.
Small defects in the heart may resolve spontaneously as the child grows. In such cases, treatment may not be needed unless the child has a serious heart problem. It is sufficient to follow up by calling the child for control at regular intervals. However, in cases where the heart problem is serious or the child has trouble due to this problem, treatment is started immediately.
Which heart disease the child has determines the method to be chosen for treatment. The methods that can be used in treatment are as follows:
- Drug therapy: Children can be prescribed drugs that will make the heart work more effectively.
- Implants: Some heart diseases can be corrected with implants known as pacemakers. These devices, which are inserted into the heart, allow the heart to work rhythmically.
- Catheter Procedures: Catheter procedures allow the defect in the child's heart to be performed without opening the patient's chest. During the procedure, the doctor advances the thin tube-shaped catheter through the child's leg towards the heart. When the catheter comes to the defect in the heart, the defect is corrected with the help of small instruments inside the device.
- Open Heart Surgery: In cases where the catheter procedure is not sufficient to correct the defect, the heart surgery option is applied. The surgeon directly intervenes in the heart defects by opening the child's chest.
- Heart Transplant: In rare cases, the defect in the heart is performed. It may be too serious to be corrected with price. In these cases, the child needs a heart transplant.
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