Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a malformation caused by a defective or partially arrested development of the fetal heart during maternal gestation, occurring mainly in the first trimester.
I. Etiology
The etiology of CHD is not well understood, and it is thought to be divided into the following three main categories.
(i) Environmental factors
(1) Infections: early pregnancy combined with viral or bacterial and other microbial infections lead to defects or partial arrest of fetal heart development;
2, exposure to radiation or other harmful substances: for example, it is clinically found that hairdressers have a relatively high rate of teratogenicity if they are exposed to chemicals for a long period of time in early pregnancy, so attention should be paid to protection.
3.Metabolic disorders: if the mother suffers from metabolic disorders, the rate of fetal teratogenicity is also high.
4.Drug influence
5.Mental stimulation
(2) Genetic factors
1, genetic diseases (gene mutation, polygenic inheritance)
2, chromosomal translocation and aberration
(C) environmental factors and genetic factors together
II. Common symptoms
1. Shortness of breath or hoarseness: During the newborn or infant period, it is found that the affected child has difficulty sucking while breastfeeding and has shallow breathing, stopping after a few sips. Some children have nodding breathing or a depression in the suprasternal fossa during inspiration, while others have hoarseness due to the enlarged heart pressing on the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
2, low resistance, repeated respiratory infections: This is the most common symptom of left-to-right shunt type precordial disease, parents may feel that the child is prone to morbidity and low resistance.
3, developmental delay, slow weight gain: precordial disease in some infants and young children is not weight gain, which is due to insufficient blood flow and blood oxygen supply in the body circulation, growth and development than the same age children delayed, their weight backward more obvious.
4, “chicken chest”: the enlarged heart makes the sternum rise, the appearance looks like a chicken chest, easy to be misdiagnosed as chicken chest, in fact, precordial disease, resulting in delayed treatment.
5.Mouth and lips or nail bed bruising
6.Walking squatting phenomenon: it shows that after walking for a certain distance, the patient automatically takes a squatting position and then stands up after resting for a moment. Because the squatting process can make the hypoxic condition improve.