What is congenital heart disease
Congenital heart disease is a cardiovascular malformation caused by abnormal cardiovascular development or developmental disorders during fetal life. According to statistics, the incidence of congenital cardiovascular disease in China is about 7-10 per 1,000, and about 150-200,000 babies are born with congenital heart disease every year. The most common congenital heart malformations are ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus.
What are the dangers of congenital heart disease
Normally, the blood in the heart flows in one direction. In congenital heart disease, the structure of the heart is changed. It can cause impaired blood supply to the tissues and organs of the body, resulting in tissue hypoxia and affecting the growth and development of the affected child; it can cause increased blood flow to the lungs, making it easy for repeated lung infections to occur; it can increase the burden on the heart, causing heart failure and inducing malignant arrhythmia or even sudden death; the turbulent flow of blood can cause damage to the local endocardial structure, making it easy for bacteria to grow and infective endocarditis to occur. In addition to the above damage, congenital heart disease can also cause psychological damage to the child, affecting the physical and mental health of the child, and can cause personality defects in serious cases.
Clinical manifestations of congenital heart disease
If a child is found to have one of the following manifestations, it should be considered whether the child has congenital heart disease and should go to the relevant hospital for examination in time.
1.Frequent colds, fever, pneumonia, sweating, weight loss, and lack of weight gain, etc.
2, after birth or 6 months after the birth of the lips, face, fingers and toes purple, easy to sweat, wheezing, can walk after like squatting, that is, walk a paragraph squat.
3, not many colds, seemingly normal, but after the age of 7 to 8 years old walking fast or upstairs appear shortness of breath or purple lips and other phenomena.
What to do if you find out your child has preexisting heart disease
When parents find out that their child has heart disease, they are anxious. However, there is no need to be overly nervous, but the following practices can be adopted.
1, first take the child to a regular large hospital for examination as soon as possible, especially to receive a professional cardiac ultrasound examination to clarify the nature, degree and severity of the heart malformation, etc.
2, should consult with a cardiologist about which treatment (surgery or interventional therapy) the child should take. Some simple precardiac diseases do not have obvious effects on the body and can be followed up and observed. However, regular physical examinations, including chest X-ray and electrocardiogram, should be performed to understand the changes of murmur and cardiopulmonary load.
3. The appropriate treatment plan should be chosen under the advice of a cardiologist, taking into account your own situation. Whether it is surgical or interventional treatment, if interventional treatment is chosen, parents should find a professional precordial interventionalist to make a surgical plan. In the past, surgery was the only treatment method and had the following disadvantages: high surgical trauma, many complications, long postoperative recovery time, and lifelong scars.
What are the advantages of interventional treatment for precardiac disease?
1.No incision, small trauma, only 2-3mm skin incision during surgery.
2, less bleeding, no blood transfusion.
3, fast recovery, 1 day after surgery can get up and move around, 3-5 days can be discharged.
4.Safe material, nickel-titanium alloy has been used in the clinic for more than 20 years, safe and reliable.
5.Good curative effect.
6.The treatment cost is similar to surgery.
7.It can be combined with surgery to treat some complex congenital heart disease, and in some cases can make up for the shortage of surgery.
How the interventional treatment of congenital heart disease is performed
The patient is usually operated under local anesthesia (or general anesthesia if the child cannot cooperate). The procedure is performed by inserting a delivery catheter (about 2 mm thick) through a puncture needle from the femoral artery or femoral vein vessel directly to the lesion site in the heart or blood vessel, and then releasing the blocker after delivering it through the catheter to the lesion site so that it is positioned and completely filled in the lesion defect site to block the abnormal blood flow. The catheter is then withdrawn from the body and local pressure is applied to stop the bleeding. The procedure takes 1-2 hours and the patient can be on the floor 1 day after the procedure and be discharged from the hospital in 2-5 days.
What congenital heart diseases are suitable for interventional treatment
Atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, pulmonary valve stenosis, pulmonary arteriovenous fistula, coronary arteriovenous fistula, congenital aortic constriction, etc.