Congenital heart defect is a defect in the composition of the heart and vessels of a newborn. The majority heart defects either block blood flow in the heart and vessels near it or cause blood to flow through the heart in an abnormal pattern, although other defects affecting heart rhythm such as long QT syndrome can also occur. Heart defects are among the most common birth defects and are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths.
Congenital Heart Defects - Symptoms
Congenital heart defects because a wide range of symptoms. Your baby may have only mild symptoms and tire easily, for example. They may have serious symptoms, like severe difficulty breathing. Or your baby may not have any symptoms that you observe at birth but may develop them later as he or she grows.
Common symptoms of a congenital heart defect include:
o Difficulty breathing. This often is noticed when your baby is active, such as during feeding and crying.
o Poor weight gain. When most of a baby's energy is spent pumping blood to the body, little is left for eating and growing. Your baby may tire when eating and may take longer than expected to finish feeding.
o Sudden weight gain or puffiness and swelling of the skin, seen most often around the eyes and in the hands and feet and may be most noticeable when your baby first wakes up. The weight gain or puffiness can be caused by fluid retention that is related to poor blood circulation.
o Sweating, especially on the head. You may notice that your baby has damp hair and cool, moist skin.
o Fatigue and fussiness. Your baby may be too tired to play and may sleep most of the time.
o Less wet diapers than expected. Following the primary week, the majority of the newborn damp at least six diapers in a twenty four hour time. You might also view the baby's urine is gloomy and pungent.
How are they treated?
Some defects get better on its own and may not need treatment. Your baby's treatment will depend on the kind of defect.
Medicines may be used to help the heart work better. Medicines may also treat symptoms until the defect is repaired.
Some defects can be fixed by using a catheter, which does not require opening up the chest. A physician threads a slim tube known as catheter throughout a blood vessel, characteristically one in the groin. The physician threads the catheter into the heart, where the physician uses this to secure holes and open conical blood vessels and valves.
If a baby has a large or complex defect, the baby may need one or more open-heart surgeries. The surgery may be done right away, done over several steps, and deferred until the infant is stronger. Occasionally surgical procedure is delayed if the baby is premature or until the baby is strong enough to handle the surgery. In some cases, the child may need different types of surgery over time as he or she grows.
Complications of congenital heart defects
The majority children who have correct congenital heart defects guide normal lives. Nevertheless, complications at times develop.
Heart failure is a major complication of congenital heart defects. Heart failure may develop many years after the defect is diagnosed. It can cause a variety of symptoms, like severe difficulty breathing and irregular heartbeats. For more information about signs and symptoms related to heart failure, see the topic Heart Failure.