You need all the information and support you can get. Connect with parents of other children with a heart problem. He or she can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. This article was contributed by: familydoctor. This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject. Your newborn will go through screening tests at the hospital.
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Read More. Fever in Infants and Children. Vomiting and Diarrhea. Table of Contents. What is congenital heart disease? They could include: Heart valve defect A hole in the heart Defects in one of the chambers. Heart muscle abnormalities. Symptoms of congenital heart disease. Serious congenital heart defects may cause the following symptoms in newborns: Fast breathing.
A blue color to the skin, lips, and fingernails. Fatigue or poor feeding. Heart murmur an extra sound heard when a doctor listens to the heart.
The ductus arteriosus is open when a baby is in the womb. This can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure. Sometimes a PDA may close on its own. But some babies need medicine, procedures with catheters or heart surgery. Septal defects.
These conditions leave a hole in the septum. This can cause blood to go in the wrong direction or to the wrong place, or it can cause extra blood to be pumped to the lungs. Types of septal defects include:. Some small septal defects close on their own. Heart surgery or procedures with catheters can fix larger septal defects. Babies with AVSD usually need heart surgery.
Some babies have heart defects because of changes in their chromosomes or genes. Chromosomes are the structures that hold genes. Genes are passed from parents to children. Certain gene changes also called mutations are linked to heart defects. At least 15 in 15 percent of CHDs are linked to genetic or chromosomal conditions.
For example, about half of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects. If you, your partner or one of your other children has a congenital heart defect, your next baby may be more likely to have one, too.
So you may want to meet with a genetic counselor. Tell your provider about any medicine you take before you try to get pregnant. This includes prescription medicines , over-the counter medicine, herbal products and supplements. But some medicines may be critical to your own health, even if they may affect your baby. You and your provider can weigh the benefits and risks of medicine you take to give you the healthiest possible pregnancy. Starting, stopping or changing medicines may cause serious health problems for you or your baby.
Some things in your life and environment where and how you live may increase your chances of having a baby with a CHD. These include:. Less severe heart defects may not be found until children are older. You can have this test at about 18 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Your baby is tested for critical CHDs as part of newborn screening before she leaves the hospital after birth. Newborn screening checks for serious but rare and mostly treatable conditions.
It includes blood, hearing and heart screening. All states require newborn screening, and all states except California require screening for critical CHDs.
California requires that providers offer screening for critical CHDs. Babies are screened for critical CHDs with a simple test called pulse oximetry also called pulse ox. Low levels of oxygen can be a sign of a heart defect. The test is painless and only takes a few minutes.
Pulse oximetry can find many but not all critical CHDs. If tests find that your baby has a critical CHD, she can get early care and treatment to prevent more serious health problems. This is a doctor who treats babies and children with heart conditions.
If your baby has any of these signs, call his provider right away. Get expert tips and resources from March of Dimes and CDC to increase your chance of having a healthy, fully-term pregnancy and baby. March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We support research, lead programs and provide education and advocacy so that every family can have the best possible start.
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Ambassadors Ambassadors Celebrity Advocate Council. Mission stories Spotlights Impact Stories. Learning about your child's congenital heart defect can help you understand the condition and know what you can expect in the coming months and years. Serious congenital heart defects usually are noticed soon after birth or during the first few months of life. Signs and symptoms could include:. Less-serious congenital heart defects may not be diagnosed until later in childhood.
Signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects in older children may include:. Serious congenital heart defects are often diagnosed before or soon after your child is born. If you notice that your baby has any of the signs or symptoms above, call your child's doctor.
If your child has any of the signs or symptoms of less-serious heart defects as he or she grows, call your child's doctor. Your child's doctor can let you know if your child's symptoms are due to a heart defect or another medical condition. A typical heart has two upper and two lower chambers. The upper chambers — the right and left atria — receive incoming blood. The lower chambers — the right and left ventricles — pump blood out of your heart.
The heart valves, which keep blood flowing in the right direction, are gates at the chamber openings for the tricuspid and mitral valves and exits for the pulmonary and aortic valves.
To understand the causes of congenital heart defects, it may be helpful to know how the heart works. The heart is divided into four hollow chambers, two on the right and two on the left.
To pump blood throughout the body, the heart uses its left and right sides for different tasks. The right side of the heart moves blood to the lungs through the lung pulmonary arteries.
In the lungs, blood picks up oxygen then returns to the heart's left side through the pulmonary veins. The left side of the heart then pumps the blood through the body's main artery aorta and out to the rest of the body. During the first six weeks of pregnancy, the heart begins to form and starts beating.
The major blood vessels that run to and from the heart also begin to develop during this critical time. It's at this point in your baby's development that heart defects may begin to develop. Researchers aren't sure exactly what causes most of these defects, but they think genetics, certain medical conditions, some medications, and environmental or lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may play a role.
Heart defects are often called "congenital," which means "present at birth. Children with minor heart defects may not need any treatment. But some babies have serious symptoms that need medical or surgical treatment within the first year of life.
They'll be cared for by:. Procedures done through cardiac catheterization — such as balloon angioplasty or valvuloplasty — can widen an obstructed blood vessel or valve. Another procedure, transcatheter device occlusion, can close abnormal openings or holes within the heart or blood vessels without surgery.
Some problems, such as small- or moderate-sized ventricular septal defects, may close or get smaller as a child grows. While waiting for the hole to close, the child might have to take medicines. Complex defects found early might need a series of operations that are finished when a child is about 3 years old.
Kids treated for a defect surgically or medically will need regular visits with a pediatric cardiologist. At first, these visits might happen often — perhaps every month or two. Later, they might be cut back, sometimes to just once a year.
The cardiologist may use tools like X-rays, electrocardiograms ECGs , or echocardiograms to watch the defect and the effects of treatment.
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