Understanding Congenital Heart Disease: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

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Congenital heart defects refer to defects in the heart that children are born with. These are one of the most common congenital defects globally. In India too, 200,000+ children are born with a congenital heart defect (CHD). These are the numbers of the cases that are recorded – there maybe many more which go undiagnosed and hence untreated.

Only 25 per cent of the children diagnosed with a congenital heart defect are able to get the required treatment. A lack of awareness and access to resources are the biggest challenges in children getting timely treatment. Organisations like Genesis Foundation, a congenital heart foundation India has been taking steps to both build awareness and provide financial treatment to those who cannot afford the cost of treatment. The treatment for CHD is expensive and families that do not earn enough to meet their daily needs have to depend on funds they receive as a congenital heart disease donation to support the treatment.

Symptoms of Congenital Heart Defects: Some of the symptoms include:

· Rapid breathing

· Rapid heartbeat

· Extreme tiredness and fatigue

· Bluish discoloration in the skin and lips

· Fainting during exercise

· Difficulty in taking feed

Causes of CHD:

The exact cause of a CHD is still not known. There are certain factors which have been known to increase the risk of a foetus developing a congenital heart defect. some of these are:

Exposure of mother to Rubella: If a mother develops Rubella during pregnancy there is a greater risk of the child developing a CHD. A mother must check if she is immune to Rubella and if she is not she must get vaccinated for the same.

Diabetes: Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes also increase the risk of the child developing a heart defect. It is imperative for a pregnant mother to keep her sugar levels under control especially if she is diabetic.

Exposure to Smoking and Alcohol: Exposure of a mother to smoking or consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can also increase the chances of a foetus developing a congenital heart defect.

Medication: consumption of certain medications by the mother during pregnancy is known to increase the risk of a congenital heart defect. Certain medicines used for dermatological conditions which contain isotretinoin, for example can cause a heart defect. It is therefore recommended for a pregnant mother to not consume any medication without the permission of her doctor.

Genetics: Certain genetic conditions have known to be connected with congenital heart defects.  Down Syndrome, Turners Syndrome for example are known to be related to congenital heart defects.

Since the exact cause if a CHD is unknown, it is not possible to prevent it completely. However, steps taken like the ones mentioned above help in preventing a foetus from developing a heart defect.

Treatment:

The silver lining is that most congenital heart defects can be treated, timely diagnosis and treatment being the key. The treatment for a congenital heart defect depends on the type and severity of the defect. The common treatment options are as follows:

Medications: Can be used in isolation or along with certain interventions. The medications are given to relive some of the symptoms of a CHD. These medicines may include diuretics, which reduce the fluid on the body and hence the strain on the heart, blood pressure drugs, and other drugs used to treat heart rhythm.

Surgery: a minimally invasive surgery for an open-heart surgery maybe required to treat a congenital heart defect.

Cardiac Catherisation: This involves inserting thin flexible tubes called catheters through the groin. These are taken to the heart and tiny tools are passed through this to fix a heart defect.

Not all congenital heart defects will require an intervention. Some defects which maybe minor will only require observation by the pediatric cardiologist. Treatment for congenital heart defects can be expensive. One can reach out to a trust or NGO for a congenital heart disease donation to support with the treatment costs. For more information about the available help for congenital heart defects one can reach out to a congenital heart foundation India. They often have a repository of information regarding the condition and help families whose children are diagnosed with the same. 


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