What is congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease is a structural defect found in the heart at birth and usually occurs in the early stages of pregnancy, when organs begin to develop. Congenital heart diseases can be in the form of small/large holes between the atria or ventricles or mild/severe stenosis in the valves, or they can be in the form of very severe disorders such as the absence of one or more of the atria or ventricles.
All heart diseases in children are congenital. Are all heart diseases in children congenital?
Are all heart diseases in children congenital?
The majority of heart diseases in children are congenital and are usually diagnosed early after birth.
Ductus arteriosus patency (PDA), atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) are some of them. PDA is the opening between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. PDA can be closed by catheter method or surgically. ASD are holes located between the atria and VSD are holes located between the ventricles. Small holes need to be monitored clinically, and large holes need to be closed. The appropriate ones are closed by catheter method without the need for surgery, and the others are closed surgically.
Who is at risk of giving birth to a child with the disease?
Who is at risk of giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease?
All mothers and fathers can have a child with congenital heart disease. Congenital heart disease occurs in eight out of 1,000 children, most of whom are mild. If the mother, father or one of the family members has congenital heart disease, the probability of the unborn baby being born sick may be higher.
How is the diagnosis of congenital heart disease in the baby in the womb made?
With the examinations performed during pregnancy (fetal echocardiography), it can be determined whether the baby has a congenital heart disease or arrhythmia. If the mother or other members of the family have congenital heart disease, if the mother has had some infections such as rubella during pregnancy, if she has diabetes or has used certain medications, and if she has gynecological diseases and obstetrics. In cases where transplantation is recommended, it should be investigated whether the unborn baby is affected by heart disease by fetal echocardiography starting from the 18th week of pregnancy.
How can the baby's congenital heart disease be recognized?
Babies with severe heart disease show symptoms within the first few months. Babies may have problems such as congenital bruising, feeding difficulty, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, failure to gain weight, developmental delay, tendency to pneumonia, chest pain, feeling dizzy, fainting, signs of heart failure, and a murmur may be heard during examination. Mild disorders usually do not cause symptoms and are diagnosed by hearing a murmur when consulting a doctor for other reasons.
What is the life of children with congenital heart disease?
The majority of children are adults. They live to term. Although there may be limitations in their exercise capacity, most have a normal or near-normal quality of life. The decrease in exercise capacity is more pronounced in those with severe disease. In some diseases, growth retardation and learning difficulties may occur.
How do congenital heart diseases occur?
How do congenital heart diseases occur?
The cause of most congenital heart diseases is unknown. Although it is assumed to be hereditary, a relationship with very few genes has been detected. Congenital heart disease may occur in more than one child in the same family. In some cases, such as Down syndrome, more than one organ along with the heart may be affected. Rarely, drug use or infections during pregnancy may cause congenital heart diseases. For example, if the mother gets rubella during pregnancy, the baby's heart may be affected and structural heart disease may occur. Some medications, alcohol and drugs also increase the likelihood of a baby being born with congenital heart disease. Pregnant women should take a nutritious diet, avoid smoking and drinking alcohol, and should not take medications unless recommended by a doctor. Families should not feel guilty about the development of the disease.
Follow-up of children with congenital heart disease
As in all children, children with congenital heart disease It is very important to follow general medical precautions. Children with congenital heart disease generally experience childhood illnesses as smoothly as children without heart disease. Antibiotics are recommended in special circumstances to protect the heart from infection (infective endocarditis).
Children with congenital heart disease need to receive age-appropriate vaccinations, as in all children. In addition, some vaccinations, such as the flu vaccine, may be administered.
Children with heart disease need to be monitored at regular intervals to determine their well-being. In general, more frequent check-ups are required during the initial diagnosis and after surgery, and less frequently in the following years.
Examinations
Depending on the disease, a child with heart disease may be asked to have the following examinations performed at regular intervals. .
- Blood tests
- Chest x-ray
- Electrocardiogram
- 24-hour electrocardiography (Holter)
- Echocardiography (ECHO)
- Tilt test
- Exercise (exertion) test
- Cardiac catheterization
- Electrophysiological study
Prevention of infective endocarditis
Infective endocarditis; It is an infection that occurs when bacteria that infect the blood settle in the membranes lining the heart, heart valves and large vessels. Although infective endocarditis is a rare infection, children with heart disease are at high risk for this infection. Since most of the bacteria that enter the blood are taken orally, oral hygiene and dental care are important in children.
Most children with unoperated heart disease and some of the operated children need to be given antibiotics to prevent the development of infective endocarditis.
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The child should use preventive antibiotics, especially during the procedures listed below.
- Tonsil and adenoid surgery
- Abdominal, urinary tract and reproductive organ surgeries
- Dental procedures and tooth extractions that may cause bleeding
Antibiotics recommended in the infective endocarditis booklet to be given to families to protect against infective endocarditis. There is detailed information about the otic dose and application time. The medication to be used and its dosage vary depending on the child's weight and heart disease.
If my child is not born with congenital heart disease, can he develop heart problems later?
What affects children? There are many acquired (acquired) heart diseases. Most of these include inflammatory diseases such as acute rheumatic fever, Kawasaki disease, myocarditis (a viral infection). These conditions are rare and require consultation with a pediatric cardiologist if suspected by the pediatrician.
Sometimes children may experience rhythm disturbances that cause abnormal beating sensations or palpitations. Arrhythmia is a disorder involving the heartbeat. If arrhythmia is suspected, your child should be consulted by a pediatric cardiologist.
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