Infant Heart Problems Symptoms

Sometimes, even in the healthiest of pregnancies, an infant can develop heart issues. Some symptoms are so mild they go undetected until the baby is older. However, a parent or caregiver can look for some signs that point to problems in the development of the heart.

Difficulty Eating

• Difficulty eating is a symptom that's easy for a parent to recognize in a newborn. A newborn should be hungry about every hour and half during the first six weeks of life, moving to every two to three hours for the first year. A baby who is excessively struggling to eat, or showing a lack of interest in eating, should have their heart examined immediately by their pediatrician.

Excessive Sleeping

• Newborns sleep a lot: Up to 16 hours a day is spent napping. Naps are typically 90 minutes long, with the baby waking to feed and have his diaper changed. If a child is sleeping 18 or more hours a day, though, this can be a sign of a heart development issue. The baby may be laboring intensely due to either too much blood pumping through the body, causing stress; or too little blood, causing a lack of oxygen.

Rapid Heart & Breathing Rate

• A newborn's heart rate is normally between 120 and 150 beats per minute. This is coupled with a respiration or breathing rate of between 35 to 60 breaths per minute. If your newborn appears to be struggling to breathe, panting or gasping, coupled with a rapid or slowed heart rate, call your pediatrician immediately. She will ask you specific questions to determine what is normal, versus what requires immediate attention.

Color

• Abnormal coloring is another symptom of heart issues and one that can be easily detected. If your child is suffering from a weakened heart, especially one causing too little blood to be pumped through to the lungs, the baby will have a bluish tint. Infants are naturally pink, so an excessively pale or blue tint is an indicator that your newborn's heart may be struggling and needs medical intervention.

Weight Loss

• Another symptom you can observe is if your infant is not gaining weight or, worse, losing weight. An infant naturally loses 5-10% of her birth weight during the first week and this is regained within the first three weeks of life. But if your newborn continues to lose, or not gain, weight, this indicates that something is amiss and it can be a symptom of a heart issue.

Instinct

• If your baby just does not seem "right," start to journal what you notice. Note the day, time and symptom. Track issues, and watch for symptoms that are out of the norm for your baby, such as a sudden shift in the resting heart or breathing rate and a sudden change in sleeping or eating patterns. Most babies are healthy, but if there is something amiss, catching it early is the best prevention of a serious health issue.

Urgent Symptoms

• If you see a combination of the following symptoms, call 911 and talk through the symptoms as your infant may be having a heart attack. Although rare, it's important to address immediately, especially if your infant had a heart murmur at birth:

  The baby is completely inconsolable;
  Skin looks gray, ashen or mottled;
  Skin is blue around the mouth and lips;
  Sweating;
  Weakened voice;
  The baby looks scared;
  Difficulty breathing;
  Heart sounds either rapid or slow;
  The baby is cold to the touch and when you press your thumb into their breastbone, color does not return for over 3 seconds.