What Tests Should Be Done to Check for a Heart Problem in a Child?

Childhood heart conditions come in many forms. Fortunately, all potential problems can be screened for and, if necessary, treated to ensure that a patient is safe and prepared. For a child who has shown signs indicating that he or she is at risk of having a heart problem, these tests are potentially life-saving.

Testing Basics

• Each year approximately 40,000 children are born with a congenital heart problem, with at least eight of every 1,000 newborns entering the world with a heart condition. Heart problems in children can be congenital, meaning the child is born with them, or acquired as a result of behaviors, such as diabetes.

Echocardiography

• Pediatric echocardiography, also referred to as an ECHO, is used when a young child is believed to be afflicted with a congenital heart problem. For an unborn child that is at risk for certain heart problems, such as a child whose mother is diabetic or has consumed alcohol while pregnant, fetal echocardiography may be implemented. During an ECHO scan an image of the heart is created allowing doctors to see the size and shape of the heart and look for signs of potential problems.

Electrocardiogram

• An electrocardiogram, more commonly known as an EKG, uses a series of wires and nodes attached to the chest of the individual being scanned. Once the patient is attached to the sensors, the sensors detect and amplify the electrical changes in the surface of the skin. Using the readout of the EKG a doctor looks for any signs of a possible heart condition, such as cardiomyopathy, heart valve disease or low blood flow to the heart.

Electrophysiology

• Electrophysiology testing checks a child for the presence of an irregular heart beat. Methods of electrophysiology come in non-invasive forms, meaning that no surgery is required on the patient, as well as invasive treatment methods, such as a pacemaker, which uses small electric pulses to keep a patient's heart in rhythm.

Exercise Testing

• Exercise testing is important for children suspected of having a heart condition who are interested in getting involved with sports. The child is put under conditions which tax the body, such as running on a treadmill, while hooked up to monitoring devices. Using the readouts from the devices, a doctor assesses how the child's body reacts to physical exertion.