1.What is congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease is a heart disease that occurs when the fetus has abnormalities in its structure, form and function during the growth and development of the heart and large blood vessels due to the interference of various factors (oxygen deprivation, dryness, cold, viral infection, environmental pollution, etc.) during the mother’s pregnancy. It is a disease that seriously endangers the health of children.
2.Can congenital heart disease be cured by taking medicine?
No. It is not possible. It can only delay the disease and lose the best chance of treatment.
3.What is the best age for treatment of congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease is a kind of disorder that seriously endangers the growth and development of infants and children. The presence of congenital heart disease inevitably affects the growth of the child, not only makes the child weak and sickly since childhood, slow growth and development compared to children of the same age, and even affects its intellectual development, and with the growth of age, the disease also develops continuously, and some patients have developed to the point of being unable to medical treatment when they reach adolescence. Therefore, at present, domestic and foreign experts and scholars agree that once congenital heart disease is found, it should be treated as soon as possible (around 2 years old) to avoid delaying the disease and losing the best treatment period.
4.What is interventional treatment of congenital heart disease?
In layman’s terms, interventional treatment of congenital heart disease is the treatment of congenital heart disease without surgery. Under the guidance of large X-ray machine fluoroscopy and color ultrasound monitoring, a cardiac catheter is used to deliver the necessary devices (blockers and balloons) to the abnormalities of the heart through the femoral arteries and veins of the legs to treat them, thus achieving the purpose of curing congenital heart disease.
5.What are the advantages of congenital heart disease interventional treatment?
Interventional treatment for congenital heart disease has the following advantages: less painful and less traumatic; safe and effective; high success rate of surgery; no need for general anesthesia; no scars left behind; short hospital stay; can achieve the purpose of radical cure; more in line with human physiology and minimally invasive requirements, etc., and has been accepted by the majority of children and their families. It has brought good news for children with congenital heart disease.
6.What congenital heart diseases can be treated by interventional methods?
Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula (PAVF), Farrer’s triad (F3), coronary arteriovenous fistula, vena cava stenosis, and limb vascular malformation, etc.
7.How is interventional treatment for congenital heart disease performed?
First of all, all routine examinations (routine blood, urine, liver function, kidney function, hepatitis B-6, electrocardiogram, heart trislice, color ultrasound, blood biochemistry, blood gas analysis, etc.) must be performed at the hospital before the operation. During the procedure, the patient is awake (basic anesthesia is used for children under 6 years old), the femoral artery or vein is punctured, and interventional devices such as blockers or balloons are delivered to the heart and vascular disorders through the cardiac catheter that travels through the blood vessels, and treatment (including blocking, embolization, balloon dilation, etc.) is performed depending on the type of disease. After treatment, the catheter is withdrawn from the body and local pressure is applied to stop the bleeding. After the operation, the patient only needs to rest in bed for about 12 to 20 hours, and can get out of bed and be discharged from the hospital in 3 days, which does not affect his normal life, study and work, and the whole procedure takes about 50 minutes on average.
7.Will congenital heart disease recur as the child grows older after interventional treatment?
No. Interventional treatment of congenital heart disease is radical (i.e., the root has been removed), and as long as the treatment is successful, there is no problem of recurrence, and the blocker placed will not affect the development of the heart, and the heart form and function of the patient will basically return to normal level 2-6 months after the operation. These are also its advantages over open surgery.
8.What is the efficacy of interventional treatment for congenital heart disease?
Patients with congenital heart disease intervention were found by our observation: the enlarged heart (including atria, ventricles, pulmonary arteries, etc.) of the patients gradually recovered to within the normal range after surgery, the increased pulmonary blood was reduced, the ejection fraction of the heart was increased, the heart function was improved, the pulmonary artery pressure was decreased, the arterial oxygen saturation was increased, the patient’s activity was increased, symptoms such as panic, shortness of breath and weakness disappeared, the physical development of the adolescents was accelerated, the weight gain, and disappearance of the original heart murmur. At the follow-up of 6 months to 5 years, all patients were able to participate in daily life, study and work without any abnormalities, and the recent and long-term results were very satisfactory.
9.What is the current level of interventional treatment for congenital heart disease in China?
Interventional treatment for congenital heart disease in China has developed rapidly in the past 10 years and has reached the international advanced level and is in the leading position. According to the statistics of many heart centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Xi’an, there are 20,000 cases of children with congenital heart disease recovered through interventional treatment in China every year, and interventional treatment has become the preferred treatment for congenital heart disease in developed coastal areas. With the expansion of publicity and the popularization of medical knowledge, it is believed that more and more patients will prefer this safe and effective treatment method, and this treatment method will bring gospel to more patients with congenital heart disease.
10.What preparations should be made before interventional treatment for congenital heart disease?
First of all, various examinations should be performed to clarify the diagnosis, and the doctor in charge should explain to the patient and family about the condition, the risks and precautions of interventional treatment, and sign the consent form for the procedure. Infusion and antibiotics are administered one day before the operation, and patients are fasted and dehydrated in the morning of the operation. children under 6 years old do the preparations related to basic anesthesia. All interventional patients should pay all the treatment fees before surgery to avoid affecting the treatment.
11.What should I pay attention to after interventional treatment for congenital heart disease?
On the day of interventional treatment, a full-time nurse will pick up and send the patient to the treatment and back to the ward, and will carefully observe the patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, whistling and other indicators, and administer fluids and anti-inflammatory treatment, etc. The patient should rest in bed for 12-20 hours after returning to the ward, keeping the punctured lower limb straight and local salt bag compression to stop bleeding. Generally, adults can eat half an hour after surgery, and children can eat one hour after waking up from anesthesia, and can get out of bed the next day, and can be discharged 3 days after surgery. After discharge from the hospital, you can usually participate in daily study, life and work. A few patients need medication adjustment treatment for a period of time to consolidate the effect of treatment.
12.What should be noted after the discharge of congenital heart disease intervention?
Patients discharged from the hospital after interventional treatment should be reviewed at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Patients after atrial septal defect blocking need to take oral aspirin routinely for 6 months, patients after ventricular septal defect blocking need to take oral aspirin routinely for 3 months, patients after arteriovenous catheter occlusion do not need to take oral aspirin. There is no moderation in diet and lifestyle.