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Babies & Congenital Heart Disease

Finding out that your baby has a congenital heart defect (otherwise known as congenital heart disease) may be startling and scary, but your baby is in good hands. Modern medical knowledge and technology are improving your baby's chances of thriving into adulthood, as doctors are now able to diagnose and treat almost every type of congenital heart disease.

  1. Congenital Heart Defects

    • Congenital heart defects are problems in the structure of a newborn baby's heart. They can involve problems with the heart's interior walls, the heart's valves, and the heart's arteries and veins. Congenital heart defects affect heart blood flow. Some congenital heart defects are simple and have no symptoms while others are complicated and are accompanied by life-threatening symptoms.

    Rate of Incidence

    • Between 650,000 and 1.3 million Americans have a congenital heart defect, and about 36,000 (almost one in every 100) babies are born with a congenital heart defect every year, says the American Heart Association. However, if you or anyone in your family has already had a baby with a congenital heart defect, your risk of having another baby with a congenital heart defect may be higher than normal.

    Causes

    • There are many potential genetic and environmental causes of congenital heart defects. According to the American Heart Association, they are mainly thought to be genetic but only a few genes have been positively linked to congenital heart defects. Also, according to KidsHealth online, if a woman in her first trimester of pregnancy is exposed to environmental substances such as dermatologic medication, lithium salts and anticonvulsant medication, it may increase her baby's chances of being born with a congenital heart defect. Additionally, if a woman abuses drugs and alcohol, has uncontrolled diabetes, or is exposed to industrial chemicals during pregnancy, her baby's risk of having a congenital heart defect increases. However, specific causes of congenital heart disease are not usually known.

    Symptoms

    • Severe congenital heart defects usually become apparent within the first few months after a baby is born. Often, one of the first signs of congenital heart disease is a heart murmur, vibrations that can be heard through a stethoscope. (Note that most heart murmurs do not indicate a heart defect.) In some babies, low blood pressure and blue skin at birth are indicators that blood is not circulating adequately through their small bodies. Some other symptoms may include breathing difficulties, problems with feeding, and insufficient weight gain.

    Treatment

    • Many congenital heart defects can be treated with one surgery in early infancy, though some defects may require two to three operations between infancy and preschool age. Some conditions may also be treated by invasive procedures, performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory instead of on an operating table. A child with a congenital heart defect typically continues to see a pediatric cardiologist and his regular pediatrician for standard check-ups.

    Outlook

    • According to the American Heart Association, the risk of dying after congenital heart surgery has decreased from 30 percent to about five percent between the 1960s and today. Most children with simple defects live into adulthood with no further problems beyond possible exercise limitations. People born with complex congenital heart defects experience more limitations such as developmental delays and learning difficulties.

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