Pediatric congenital heart disease (congenital heart disease for short) is a congenital malformation formed by abnormal development of heart vessels during fetal life, and is the most common heart disease in children. Most of the reasons for its occurrence are due to the abnormal development of the fetal heart caused by viral infection, radioactive radiation, the influence of certain drugs, lack of nutrition and certain genetic factors during the first trimester of pregnancy, thus causing congenital heart disease in children. The common congenital heart diseases include atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary valve stenosis, etc.
With the development of medical science, many congenital heart diseases can be treated with early surgery. Therefore, early detection of suspicious symptoms is the key so that timely examination, clear diagnosis and necessary measures can be taken.
The following symptoms should be noted.
1.Infant’s cry is low and hoarse.
2. Shortness of breath and weakness in breastfeeding.
3.Small appetite, poor growth and development.
4. Pale face, restlessness, sweating, purple lips after strenuous activity or crying.
5, weak resistance, easy to catch colds, bronchitis and pneumonia and other diseases, and not easy to recover after the disease.
In recent years, domestic diagnostic and surgical techniques for congenital heart disease have developed rapidly, and the success rate of surgical correction of most pediatric congenital heart disease has reached more than 95%. However, some children delay seeking medical treatment due to parental negligence, so that the disease has reached an advanced stage, or lose the opportunity to operate, or complicate the cardiopulmonary insufficiency, increasing the risk of surgery.
For this reason, we remind parents to.
(1) Take your child to the hospital as early as possible for examination to clarify the nature and degree of heart malformation and to determine the appropriate age for surgery, so as not to delay the condition with the idea of “waiting until he/she is older”.
(2) For children with heart murmurs but no symptoms, they should not be neglected and should undergo regular physical examinations, including chest X-ray and electrocardiogram, to understand the changes of murmurs and the cardiopulmonary load. Consider surgery if necessary to prevent complications such as endocarditis.
(3) For children who need to wait for surgery due to age or other factors, it is important to prevent colds, develop brushing habits and maintain oral hygiene. Tooth decay and tonsillitis should be actively treated when found. If there is a prolonged fever that does not subside, consult a physician as early as possible and avoid strenuous physical activities to avoid increasing the burden on the heart and lungs.
While cooperating with doctors for active treatment, parents’ attentive care is also important.
1, try to keep the child quiet, try not to make the child cry, avoid the child emotional excitement, reduce unnecessary stimulation. Older children should have a regular life, combined with movement and stillness, neither running around outside (running and jumping and strenuous exercise are strictly prohibited), so as not to increase the burden on the heart. At the same time to ensure adequate sleep.
2, children with cardiac insufficiency tend to sweat more, need to keep the skin clean, bathe regularly in summer, wipe the body with a hot towel in winter (pay attention to keep warm), change clothes and pants regularly. Feed more water to ensure adequate hydration.
3. Children with congenital heart disease should eat less and more meals, need to ensure sufficient protein and vitamin intake, and give a diet as diverse and easy to digest as possible. Infants with congenital heart disease are more difficult to feed, and they are prone to shortness of breath when sucking and stop sucking, and they are prone to vomiting and sweating a lot.
4, keep the stool can be smooth, if the stool is dry, defecation difficulties, excessive force will increase the abdominal pressure, increase the burden on the heart, and may even have serious consequences. If there is no stool for 2-3 days, you can use open plug laxative to laxative.
5, indoor air circulation, children try to avoid staying in crowded public places to reduce the chance of respiratory infection. Add or remove clothes in time with the weather and pay close attention to prevent colds.
6, congenital heart disease children are weak, prone to infectious diseases, especially respiratory diseases are common, so should be carefully care, with the change of seasons, and into the increase and decrease of clothing. If there is a family member with upper respiratory tract infection, isolation measures should be taken and the child should be taken to public places as little as possible. Once the child becomes infected, the infection should be actively controlled.
7, regular follow-up visits to the hospital outpatient clinic, strictly follow the doctor’s instructions to take medication, especially cardiac, diuretic drugs, due to its pharmacological properties, must be absolutely controlled dose, on time, according to the course of treatment to ensure the effectiveness.
8, by the surgical treatment of children with precardiac disease, 3 months after surgery to strengthen care. Pay attention to diet and nutrition; keep warm and prevent from catching cold. Comfort and encourage the child to prevent the burden of thought; at the same time, pay attention to the child’s sleep and rest, so that they can successfully pass the post-operative recovery period.