1.What is congenital heart disease? How does it develop?
Congenital heart disease, referred to as congenital heart disease, is a lesion of the heart vessels caused by abnormal development of the fetus’ heart or blood vessels during the mother’s pregnancy due to various reasons. It is called congenital heart disease because it is present at birth. For example, congenital atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, congenital pulmonary valve stenosis, tetralogy of Fallot, etc.
The prevalence of congenital heart disease in newborns in China is 6-7 per 1,000. There are about 150,000 newborns with congenital heart disease every year. It is about 3.1‰ in preschool children, 2.39‰-2.8‰ in school-age children, 3.1‰ in primary and secondary school students, and 1.08‰ in adults. However, among primary and secondary school students in Qinghai, a plateau region, the prevalence rate is as high as 8.8‰-13.7‰.
2.What are the reasons for the development of congenital heart disease?
(1) Viral infection in early pregnancy: such as mother suffering from cold, enteritis, etc.
(2) Drugs taken during pregnancy.
(3) Genetic factors: the prevalence of congenital heart disease in the children of mothers and fathers with congenital heart disease is much higher than the prevalence of the population.
(4) Premature babies: Premature babies, especially those weighing less than 2500g, have more ventricular septal defects and ductus arteriosus.
3.What are the risks of prematurity?
(1) Premature heart disease is born with cardiovascular lesions, children tend to be more prone to colds and pneumonia, and usually have reduced activity endurance, and some also affect growth and development. Some children with more serious precardiac disease may also have abnormal chest development, abnormally large hearts, and in severe cases, heart failure at a very young age.
(2) Some of the adult symptoms of discomfort, often found during the examination of the abnormal enlargement of the heart, patients are very vulnerable to cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmias and “heart infection” and so on. Once a patient with precordial disease develops infective endocarditis, severe pulmonary hypertension and other serious complications, the consequences are very serious, missed treatment opportunities, and even life-threatening.
(3) Precocious heart disease often affects the child’s admission to nursery school, schooling and future education.
(4) Female patients with congenital heart disease will have their heart burden further increased during pregnancy after marriage, which may even affect the life of the mother and child.
4.Which congenital heart diseases can heal naturally?
Some patients with the following three types of congenital heart disease have the possibility of natural closure within a limited period of time.
(1) Secondary foramen ovale septal defect: the natural closure rate is about 40% before the age of 4 years, and the natural closure rate of small septal defects can be as high as 80% within 18 months.
(2) Ventricular septal defect: most of them have the possibility of natural closure within 1 year old, and the chance of natural closure after 4 or 5 years old is greatly reduced.
(3) Arteriovenous ductus arteriosus: natural closure is possible within 3 months after birth, and most of them cannot be closed naturally after infancy (6 months after birth).
5.What methods can be used to treat congenital heart disease?
No drug can cure congenital heart disease, and there are 2 methods of radical cure.
(1) Open-heart surgery to correct the treatment.
(2) Interventional blocking treatment in internal medicine.
6.What is interventional treatment of congenital heart disease?
Interventional treatment of congenital heart disease is a treatment of blocking, dilation or embolization of the lesion by inserting a special catheter into the body through the femoral vein or artery under the guidance of X-ray television and ultrasound, and then making quantitative or qualitative treatment of the lesion after imaging diagnosis, and then selecting special equipment. After that, all the inserted catheters are withdrawn, leaving only 1-2 needle eyes slightly larger than the common ones on the body surface.
7.Which congenital heart diseases can be treated by interventional methods?
They mainly include.
(1) pulmonary valve stenosis.
(2) arteriovenous catheter failure.
(3) atrial septal defect.
(4) ventricular septal defect
(5) pulmonary arteriovenous fistula.
(6) coronary artery fistula.
(7) aortic stenosis; (8) mitral stenosis
(8) mitral valve stenosis.
(9) other.
8.What are the advantages of interventional treatment of congenital heart disease?
The advantages of interventional treatment for congenital heart disease are.
(1) Freedom from the pain of open-heart surgery and avoidance of surgical complications.
(2) No general anesthesia is required except for small children and older children who lack cooperation.
(3) Less trauma, shorter operation time, faster recovery, no scars, shorter hospital stay (2-3 days postoperative discharge), and rapid return to study or work
(4) Few important complications.
(5) No age limit, and interventional treatment for combined pulmonary hypertension has more advantages than surgery.