by Josephine Osborn
How big is your heart?
The size of one's heart is roughly the size of one's fist. Whether as an infant or as one grows into adulthood, the size proportion is roughly the same. The heart is an essential organ of the body that one must take care of. Exercise, a clean lifestyle, a healthy diet and weight will go a long way in keeping your heart fit. There are instances though when one is born with a heart abnormality or, in medical parlance, a congenital heart defect.
What is a Congenital Heart Defect?
A congenital heart defect is an abnormality in the heart's structure that is present at birth. It may cause the blood flow to slow down, go in the wrong direction, go to the wrong place, or it may block the flow completely. Sometimes, they are referred to as cyanotic heart disease or congenital cardiovascular malformations.
Common Congenital Heart Defects
Heart defects are the most common of abnormalities at birth. About 35,000 infants are born with it each year in the United States. They may be simple defects with no symptoms to complex ones with life-threatening symptoms In fact, they are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths.
Simple congenital heart diseases include Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Patent Ductus Arteriosus and narrowed valves. On the other hand, the most common complex heart defect is tetralogy of Fallot. It is a condition wherein not enough blood is able to reach the lungs to get oxygen, and oxygen-poor blood flows to the body.
Causes
Environment and genes are contributory factors to developing a heart defect. More often than not though, the real cause is not identified. Drinking alcohol, smoking and use of cocaine during pregnancy can lead to heart defects. Other possible causes are medication, viral infections and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, phenylketonuria (PKU) and deficiency in the B vitamin folic acid. Heredity or genetic defects can also be predisposing factors.
Prevention
Pregnancy is critical in the first trimester. The heart, like some other body organs, starts to develop shortly after conception. Chances of abnormal development or complications causing heart defects may happen.
Caution is advised when taking drug medication during pregnancy. Many drugs contain chemicals or substances that could potentially harm the fetus. Caution has been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against usage of antidepressants among pregnant women. According to the FDA, studies showed that women who took Paxil during the first trimester of pregnancy were about 1.5 to two times as likely to have a baby with a heart defect as women who received other antidepressants. The issue of pre-natal drug medication, like the Paxil birth defect, is one that should not to be cast aside by any pregnant woman.