These kinds of heart conditions are present at birth. The heart could have a hole in it or a more severe defect. Although these conditions can be very serious if they are not treated, they can often be corrected with surgery. Some congenital heart problems are detected before birth and can addressed as soon as the child is old enough to have surgery to repair the defect in their heart.
The most common symptoms of congenital heart disease are:
Doctors are not always able to tell why a baby is born with this type of heart condition. These heart problems tend to run in families, but there are other reasons that a baby can end up with a congenital heart problem. The risk factors and causes are usually the same when it comes to this health condition:
There are a few different types of congenital heart defects. The diagnosis process is typically the same for most patients, and the kind of heart problem is usually identified during diagnosis. Many young children are correctly diagnosed, and some babies are even diagnosed before they are born. Mild heart problems might not show up until adulthood, however.
In this heart condition, the heart valves might be too narrow or completely closed off. This impedes the flow of blood and might cause blood to leak backward after each beat.
In this form of congenital heart defect, the wall between the various parts of the heart can be thickened or could have holes in them that cause blood to mix or leak through the chambers of the heart when it should not.
This is one of the most serious kinds of heart defects, as it can lead to heart failure. The heart is a muscle, and when it cannot contract or flex as it should, it can lead to an inability to pump correctly.
This is more common in babies, and this condition might let blood go through the lungs into other parts of the body. These defects can cause oxygenation issues and can also lead to organ failure.
Diagnosis can be made before birth if there is reason to think that a baby has a heart problem. Genetic testing can also be done by taking a small blood sample from the mother during pregnancy. Genetic testing is usually only done if there is someone else in the family that has a congenital heart issue. A foetal echocardiogram might be done to check the function of the heart and to visualise the valves and structure of the heart.
If a heart defect is not caught before birth, a patient can have an echocardiogram or an EKG to look at the function and electrical activity of the heart. Chest x-rays might also be done, and MRI and CT can be used to get a more detailed view of the heart.
In cases where the cause of symptoms related to the heart is not clear, cardiac catheterization can be used to look at the heart more closely. In this test, a small tube, called a catheter, is inserted into a blood vessel in the arm or leg and guided to reach the heart. A dye will be injected into the heart, and videos and pictures will be taken of the heart to figure out where the defect is.
Prevention of this condition can be impossible. Many of these heart defects are related to a genetic predisposition for the problem, or there is no known cause for the defect to form before a baby is born. Women who are pregnant should be cautious about drinking and smoking during their pregnancy, and all medications that a woman is taking should be discussed with a doctor after she discovers that she is pregnant.
Treatment of congenital heart disease can vary greatly depending upon the severity of the heart defect and the symptoms that a patient is experiencing. In some cases, an infant can have corrective surgery a few days after birth to take care of their heart defect. Many of the surgical procedures that can be used to repair these defects in the heart can be done through cardiac catheterization. This is much safer and less invasive than other kinds of heart surgery.
In cases where surgery is not used to resolve the problem, beta-blockers might be used to slow the heart rate and widen the arteries. Diuretics can be used to remove excess fluid from the body, and ARBs or ACE inhibitors might be given to lower blood pressure.