Ballywho News

A congenital heart defect is a heart abnormality that is present at birth. Though the thought of your infant or young child having a heart defect might be scary, close to nine of every 1,000 kids in the U.S. is born with one, according to the American Heart Association.

Approximately 36,000 babies are born each year with some kind of heart defect. It happens most often very early in the mother’s pregnancy, and the cause is usually unknown. Most birth defects of the heart are minor; some are not even discovered until the child is a teenager or an adult.

Other heart defects, however, are potentially life-threatening and require treatment. Fortunately, they are usually detected during the mother’s pregnancy or shortly after their child’s birth. Current medical technology enables physicians to treat a number of heart conditions with medication and non-invasive techniques in addition to surgery, allowing many children with heart problems to live normal or near-normal lives.

The beat goes on

The human heart is a pump that moves blood throughout the body. In children, it beats 100,000 times a day. Fresh blood goes out via arteries, carrying oxygen with it to the tissues and organs. After the oxygen is absorbed, the oxygen-free blood returns through the veins and is moved by the heart into the lungs, where it receives oxygen and is pumped out to tissues and organs yet again.

Any heart conditions that interfere with or prevent this process from happening, are considered serious. Possible signs of a heart defect include:

• Bluish coloring. Oxygenated blood is red, and oxygen-free blood is blue. This indicates not enough oxygen is getting to tissues and organs.
• Lack of appetite. This may accompany the change in coloring.
• Weak pulse
• Problems breathing or breathing heavily
• Fatigue

Healing the heart

If an infant or child’s heart condition is severe enough, it can be treated in one of the following ways:

• Catheterization. A thin plastic tube inserted into a vein or an artery and threaded into the heart. This non-surgical technique is chosen to repair simple heart defects such as atrial septal defect and pulmonary valve stenosis.
• Surgery. An operation may be required to fix more complex heart problems. Examples include holes in the heart, valve defects and defects with blood vessels near the heart.
• Transplant. When there are too many problems to fix via surgery, a young patient may need an entirely new heart. However, this is rare.

We can help

Five of the hospitals of HCA East Florida can diagnose and treat a variety of cardiac health issues.

If you would like a physician referral, please contact Consult-A-Nurse^® at 1-866-442-2362, or visit HCA East Florida online.