Congenital Heart Disease
What is congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease is the term for a broad array of conditions relating to birth defects of the heart. This is a general term used to describe things like aortic tears, malformations, or underdeveloped anatomy. Congenital heart disease can be diagnosed right from birth, as a child, or some patients do not have a diagnosis until late in adulthood. Almost 1 in 100babies born in the United Kingdom have congenital heart disease in some form.
The earlier congenital heart disease is found and diagnosed, the better. Congenital heart disease can be the cause of sudden death in young people, especially if left untreated. Congenital heart disease can be a more general term for conditions such as when the heart gets very dilated and loses strength (dilated cardiomyopathy), when the heart becomes thicker (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), malignant arrhythmias, disease of the right ventricle which congenitally becomes dysplastic, or holes in the interatrial and interventricular septum.
Causes
As congenital heart disease is so prevalent, there are no known specific causes, however, there are many correlations regarding pre-existing conditions. Children with Down’s syndrome are more predisposed to congenital heart defects, especially in the case in which the mother contracted viral infections during pregnancy, drank alcohol or used drugs for the duration of the pregnancy. In some cases, uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetes Type 1or Type 2 in the mother may also contribute to the chance of her fetus developing congenital heart disease.
In the event of suspected congenital heart disease of a baby in utero, pre-birth tests, as well as ultrasounds, can sometimes diagnose these problems during pregnancy.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of congenital heart disease are irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia) and swelling of the legs or abdomen (oedema).Other symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue, tiredness, and dizziness
- Blueness in the skin, toes, lips (cyanosis)
- Poor weight gain
In children, in particular, these symptoms can manifest when the baby is feeding or performing physical activity. These are important to note as the child grows, in order to better diagnose this in a more timely fashion.
Prevention & Diagnosis
As stated previously, congenital defects sometimes occur because of internal factors (a chromosomal deficiency, etc.) but often occur due to external factors. Doctors recommend pregnant mothers to follow a prenatal regimen including taking vitamins and having routine checks with their family physician, as well as manage their habits while pregnant, like stop or reduce drinking, smoking, and unhealthy eating. Consult your doctor as soon as you learn you are pregnant in order to ensure the medications you take do not produce any complications.
Diagnosis can be done during pregnancy through ultrasounds or foetal echocardiogram tests. While in utero, there is a limit to the number of tests that can be performed to diagnose congenital heart disease, though it is recommended to undertake these to ensure the earliest diagnosis, and therefore treatment possible.
After birth, a diagnosis can be made during routine exams if an irregular heartbeat presents under a stethoscope, and further testing maybe requested including ECGs, MRIs, x-rays, and echocardiogram tests.
Treatment
The sooner the diagnosis, the more treatment options available. Some types of congenital heart disease might not need any treatment(such as small blockages or holes), and others might require surgeries, implants, or other procedures.
Medications prescribed can range from aspiring (a known blood thinner) to beta-blockers. Sometimes, a doctor will prescribe further testing to plan a stent or graft insertion, and sometimes the treatment is as simple as regular doctor visits and mandated exercise. Alternately, if the diagnosis is more severe, exercise might be discouraged altogether.
Ultimately, it’s important to follow your doctor’s instructions, including regular visits and tests. Should you suspect a congenital heart defect in yourself, your child, or you want to ensure your unborn child is healthy, you can request a test from your doctor in the form of blood tests, pre-screens, or an echocardiogram test.