What to do about congenital heart disease

  Congenital heart disease is a relatively common and dangerous congenital malformation, which is commonly referred to as being brought into the mother’s womb. Its causes are complex, mainly related to genetics and adverse environmental factors. For example, multiple congenital heart disease patients in the family, some common chromosomal and single gene diseases, genetic metabolic diseases in pregnant women, etc.; the presence of viral infections, exposure to radiation, toxic objects (including drugs: anti-cancer, anti-epileptic), and even smoking and alcohol abuse in the first three months of pregnancy are all risk factors for congenital heart disease.  Congenital heart disease is a general term for a group of diseases that refer to congenital malformations formed by abnormal development of the heart and large blood vessels during fetal life, which include many kinds and vary in clinical manifestations, some of which can close naturally or do not require treatment, while others are life-threatening and require emergency treatment. So how can congenital heart disease be detected early? Almost all congenital heart diseases develop in the mother’s third trimester of pregnancy, and congenital heart diseases with more obvious malformations, such as tetralogy of Fallot and relatively large ventricular septal defects, can be diagnosed by fetal heart ultrasound after 16 weeks of gestation. After birth, the common manifestations of congenital heart disease include heart murmurs, increased breathing and heart rate, feeding difficulties, excessive sweating, slow growth and development, recurrent and intractable lung infections, decreased exercise tolerance, and bruising around the mouth and at the ends of the limbs. These symptoms should be seen at a pediatric hospital as soon as possible to clarify the diagnosis and determine the treatment plan.  With the rapid development of modern medical technology, most congenital heart diseases can be treated, either by eradicating or alleviating the symptoms. However, the timing of medical treatment must be grasped, for example, large diameter ventricular septal defect, after the age of 2-3 years, there is a risk of severe obstructive pulmonary hypertension and loss of opportunity for surgery; general tetralogy of Fallot surgery within 1 year of age has the potential to alleviate future complications…. Therefore, it is important for patients to seek early consultation or consultation with a pediatric cardiology specialist once congenital heart disease is diagnosed.  Treatment of congenital heart disease is divided into surgical treatment and medical interventional treatment. Compared with surgical treatment, the history of interventional treatment is relatively short, but the technology has long been mature, with interventional blocking of the arterial catheter and balloon dilatation and shaping of the pulmonary valve being performed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With the development of medical technology and material science, interventional treatment of patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary valve stenosis has become the treatment of choice. For atrial septal defects and ventricular septal defects of appropriate location and diameter size, the choice of interventional treatment can eliminate the side effects associated with surgery and extracorporeal circulation. Of course, for severe and complex congenital heart disease, surgery is still the mainstay, and intervention can be used as an adjunct (mosaic treatment).