The incidence of pediatric congenital heart disease has been high, with about 100,000 or more babies born each year with congenital heart disease.
So how can parents find out early if their baby has congenital heart disease?
The clinical manifestations of babies with congenital heart disease vary due to the existence of a single or complex disease. Some newborns are found to have cyanosis of skin and mucous membranes, shortness of breath and heart failure, and will die if they are not diagnosed and treated in time. Some children usually have no symptoms, normal growth and development, and great activity, just like normal children, and are found to have congenital heart disease only when the doctor finds a heart murmur during physical examination when they occasionally have a cold or respiratory tract infection.
Now, according to the hemodynamic and anatomical characteristics of various types of congenital heart disease and the direction of the shunt, they are divided into three categories, and their main symptoms and manifestations are described respectively.
I. Left to right heart shunt group
In clinical practice, the following symptoms and manifestations are often observed.
1, shortness of breath: In the newborn or infant period, it is found that the child is impatient for food due to hunger, but it is found that sucking is weak, breathing is shallow into the milk, abandoning the milk and gasping for breath before sucking is finished, stopping after a few sips, feeling tired and sweating profusely.
2, repeated respiratory infections or pneumonia: this is the most common symptom and consultation found heart murmur, because the lungs are congested, a mild respiratory infection can easily cause bronchopneumonia, resulting in choking and coughing, shortness of breath, some babies sound hoarse when crying, and even symptoms such as cardiac insufficiency.
3, growth retardation: due to the insufficient flow of body circulation and blood oxygen supply, growth and development is slower than that of children of the same age, and its weight lag is more obvious than the length lag.
4, edema: when found congenital heart disease children, with the above-mentioned various symptoms and performance, if found to urinate less, lower limbs appear sunken edema, it means that the child from the function has been unable to compensate and heart failure, which is a very important warning!
Cyanosis: Generally, cyanosis does not occur in this group of diseases, but if it is not treated in time, it will cause complications of pulmonary hypertension, resulting in a shunt of blood flow from the right heart to the left heart, and cyanosis can occur, which also means that the treatment opportunity has been lost.
Second, right-to-left heart shunt group (congenital heart disease)
Common clinical symptoms and manifestations are
1.Cyanosis or cyanosis: it is an important symptom of complex congenital heart disease, manifested in skin, mucous membrane (especially mouth and lips) cyanosis, especially intensified after crying and noise and activity, such as cyanosis in neonatal period, common ones are complete aortic dislocation, pulmonary atresia, etc.; in 6 months to 1 year old gradually appearing cyanosis aggravated by Fara tetralogy of Fallot, etc.
2. Squatting: It is a common manifestation of tetralogy of Fallot. In addition to cyanosis aggravated with age, when he can walk, you will find that the child does not have much activity and feels weak after walking a short distance, so he will automatically take a squatting position or take a chest and knee position, and then stand up again after resting for a moment.
3, fainting: also known as hypoxic seizures, often occurring in breastfeeding, crying, defecation due to lack of oxygen, baby sudden respiratory distress, increased cyanosis, loss of consciousness and even cramps.
4, pestle-like fingers (toes): in the Fale tetralogy of Fallot, due to long-term hypoxia in babies, soft tissue hyperplasia at the end of the fingers (toes), so that the fingers and toes are drumstick-like changes, often appear clinically after 2-3 years of age.
5. Hemoptysis: In cases of children with tetralogy of Fallot, the rupture of blood vessels forming the collateral circulation in the lungs can cause hemoptysis due to long-term hypoxia.
III. No shunt group
There is no abnormal traffic in the left, right heart or great vessels, so there is no pulmonary congestion often leading to respiratory and pneumonia manifestations, and there is no presence of mixed arterial and venous blood, so there is also no cyanosis manifestation, and common diseases include simple pulmonary valve stenosis; aortic constriction, etc.
The above three groups of diseases all have heart murmur, according to the different degree of heart murmur and so on, doctors make further analysis, with various examination means, finally clear diagnosis, take different methods of treatment.