What is congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease is when a child is born with a heart defect, such as a hole in the heart, a problem with a valve or an issue with a blood vessel. It’s the most common kind of birth defect, but affects less than 1% of children.
While these structural heart problems are present at birth, they’re not always detected that early. Congenital heart defects may not be found until later in childhood — even in adulthood.
What causes congenital heart defects?
Congenital heart defects are caused by developmental issues. Little is known as to why a fetus doesn’t properly develop its heart, but scientists suspect it starts soon after the heart develops and may be related to many things. It could be an issue with the genes or chromosomes or major health problems during pregnancy, either through illness, environmental factors or substance abuse.
What are the signs of a congenital heart defect?
Some types of congenital heart disease are so minor that there are no symptoms. These go undiagnosed because they present no issues. Other symptoms may show up just after birth or years down the road, after the heart grows and develops into its adult size.
Due to the wide range of ages and types of defects, symptoms vary greatly. More severe childhood heart disease can present more — and more serious — symptoms. And you can also have more than one heart defect, multiplying the symptoms you experience. Signs of a heart defect include:
- Skin, lips, tongue or nails that turn blue or pale gray
- Rapid breathing or other troubles breathing
- Extreme tiredness or sleepiness
- Fainting or wearing out easily after exercise
- Swelling in the hands, feet or ankles (legs, belly and eyes for newborns)
- A weak pulse
- Poor circulation
- Pounding heartbeat
- Heart murmurs (which can only be heard with a stethoscope)
How are heart defects diagnosed in children?
Defects are diagnosed in all kinds of ways:
- Ultrasound (and follow-up echocardiogram) before birth
- Pulse oximetry (measuring blood saturation levels) shortly after birth
- MRI, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram or heart catheterization at any point in life
In a developing fetus, newborn or child, most tests are ordered after your doctor notices a problem in growth or development. Additional testing is also needed if your provider hears a heart murmur — which may or may not be caused by a defect.
There are two main types of congenital heart disease — cyanotic and acyanotic — that cause different problems and often require different diagnostic tools. Cyanotic congenital heart diseases reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood. These are considered critical heart defects and typically require surgery shortly after birth. With acyanotic heart disease, blood oxygen levels are normal but some other abnormality causes problems with blood flow.
What complications come from congenital heart disease?
Heart defects in childhood can cause major health issues later in life. They can limit your everyday activities or even shorten your lifespan. Ninety percent of children with heart defects reach adulthood, with most living long, normal lives. But every case is different, with varying degrees of severity. Adults with congenital heart disease may develop:
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
- Heart infections
- Cardiac arrest
- Hypertension
- Dysfunction with heart valves
- Hindered growth and development
How do you treat a childhood heart defect?
The potential for complications as an adult warrant treatment and monitoring throughout your life. Once congenital heart disease is found, you’ll meet with a cardiologist. The type of defect dictates the treatment. Some diseases simply require regular monitoring and testing until the heart heals and develops properly on its own. Other defects require surgery right away — sometimes immediately after birth. Oxygen therapy, medication and devices that close or plug the defect are also common treatments.
Why should I see a Med-Peds for childhood heart diseases?
A Med-Peds physician is uniquely trained in both pediatric and adult conditions, which gives them specific expertise in congenital heart defects that require long-term care. They can also identify and treat other heart problems that present in childhood — however rare they are. A Meds-Peds doctor can coordinate treatment at an early age and watch for issues through every stage of development, knowing the changing anatomy and physiology from childhood to adulthood.
If you or your kid have a heart defect or disease that developed in childhood, schedule an appointment with Dr. Tomlinson to understand the condition, get the necessary care and develop a plan to maintain a healthy heart for a lifetime.