{"id":1594,"date":"2020-06-05T05:01:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T05:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.kayawell.com\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2024-11-07T13:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T13:13:20","slug":"congenital-heart-disease-chd-symptoms-causes-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/congenital-heart-disease-chd-symptoms-causes-and-prevention","title":{"rendered":"Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)- Symptoms, Causes and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Congenital Heart Disease?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Congenital\nheart disease, or congenital heart defect, is a heart abnormality that occurs\nat birth. The problem can affect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Heart Walls<\/li><li>The Heart Valves<\/li><li>The Blood Vessels<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are\nnumerous types of congenital heart defects. They can range from simple\nconditions that do not cause symptoms, to complex problems that cause severe\nsymptoms that threaten life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to\nthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently, there are 1 million\nadults and 1 million children living with congenital heart defects in the\nUnited States. Over the last few decades, treatments and follow-up care for\ndefects have improved drastically, so that almost all children with heart\ndefects survive into adulthood. Some need continuous care for their lifelong\nheart defects. Yet despite their condition, many continue to have active and\nproductive lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symptoms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A person\nwith cyanotic heart disease may have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Difficulty breathing<\/li><li>Chest pain<\/li><li>A blue tinge to the lips, fingers, and toes, known as cyanosis<\/li><li>Infants with delayed development, trouble feeding and low appetite<\/li><li>A low concentration of oxygen in the body, leading to\nhyperventilation<\/li><li>Sweating, especially while feeding<\/li><li>Fainting<\/li><li>A small size or low body weight<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A person with\nacyanotic heart disease may experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Feeling out of breath, especially during exercise<\/li><li>Chest pain<\/li><li>A slow growth rate and a low body weight<\/li><li>Extreme tiredness<\/li><li>Difficulty feeding and poor appetite in infants<\/li><li>Sweating, especially when feeding<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time\nof birth, there may be no signs, but problems can occur as a child grows older,\nand these can require care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to see a doctor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have\nalarming signs, including chest pain or shortness of breath, seek emergency\nmedical treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have\nsigns or symptoms of congenital heart disease or have been treated as a child\nfor a congenital heart defect, see your doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Causes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors\ndon&#8217;t always know why a child suffers from a congenital heart defect. They tend\nto run in families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things that\nmake them more likely include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Infant genes or chromosomal problems, such as Down syndrome <\/li><li>Taking certain medicines, or drug abuse or alcohol during\npregnancy<\/li><li>A viral infection, like rubella (German measles) in the mother in\nthe first trimester of pregnancy<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Risk factors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A CHD\nusually results from a problem during the early stages of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a\ngreater chance of a mother is already pregnant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Has rubella or German measles<\/li><li>Has poorly controlled diabetes, including gestational diabetes<\/li><li>Takes certain medications, such as isotretinoin<\/li><li>Consumes large amounts of alcohol<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Genetic\nfactors may play a role. People with certain genetic conditions have a higher\nrisk of CHD. There is an additional genetic disorder in at least 15 per cent of\npeople with CHD. CHD may run in families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors can\ncorrect many congenital heart defects and treat CHD effectively, but\ncomplications are possible. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Endocarditis, a severe heart defect or valve infection<\/li><li>Congestive heart failure, an inability of the heart to pump\nsufficient blood to the body<\/li><li>Developmental delays in children due to lack of freshly oxygenated\nblood to the brain<\/li><li>Respiratory infections including pneumonia<\/li><li>Pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the\narteries between the heart and lungs<\/li><li>Arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat<\/li><li>Sudden cardiac death, a rare CHD complication in which the heart\nabruptly stops<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Regular\nmedical care and checkups with a cardiologist (or pediatric cardiologist) who\nhas experience treating heart defects are the best way to reduce the risk of\nCHD complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can Congenital Heart Disease Be Prevented?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Women who\nare pregnant or are planning to become pregnant may take certain precautions to\nreduce their risk of giving birth to a congenital heart defect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you plan to become pregnant, talk with your doctor about any\nprescription or over-the-counter medicines that you are taking.<\/li><li>If you have diabetes, be sure to check your blood sugar levels\nbefore getting pregnant. Working with your doctor to manage the illness while\nyou are pregnant is also important. <\/li><li>If you have not been vaccinated with rubella, or German measles,\nreduce disease contact and speak to your doctor about prevention methods.<\/li><li>Consult your doctor about genetic screening if you have a family\nhistory of congenital heart defects. Certain genes may contribute to developing\nan abnormal heart.<\/li><li>Avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy and taking illegal drugs.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Is Congenital Heart Disease? Congenital heart disease, or congenital heart defect, is a heart abnormality that occurs at birth. The problem can affect: The Heart Walls The Heart Valves The Blood Vessels There are numerous types of congenital heart defects. They can range from simple conditions that do not cause symptoms, to complex problems [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart_care"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}