Approach for Babies With Cyanotic Heart Disease

Cyanotic heart disease in babies is a congenital heart defect or group of defects that causes low blood oxygen levels. It is also known as right-to-left cardiac shunt or right-to-left circulatory shunt, because of the abnormal flow of blood from right to left in the circulatory system.

Significance

• Babies with cyanotic heart disease may have problems immediately after birth that need treatment or they may not have any problems until they are adults, depending on the type of defect.

Symptoms

• Symptoms in infants include cyanosis, a bluish coloring of the lips, toes and fingers; low weight gain; and fatigue and sweating while eating.

Identification

• A doctor can diagnose cyanotic heart disease with a number of tests, including chest x-rays, echocardiograms, heart MRIs and cardiac catheterization.

Causes

• Alcohol and drug use, infections or exposure to chemicals during pregnancy may cause some cases of cyanotic heart disease. Pregnant women with diabetes or a family history of cyanotic heart disease also have an increased risk of giving birth to an infant with a heart defect.

Treatment

• Infants with reduced blood flow may need to be treated immediately with intravenous administration of prostaglandin E1 to help oxygenate the blood. Many infants will also need surgery to repair the defect in the heart.