If you are thinking about what Congenital Heart Disease is all about, then you have certainly landed on the right page. We are here to help you with all the information related to it so that you can have a heart that’s beating at its best.
Congenital heart diseases (CHD) refer to a group of conditions that affect the structure and function of the heart from birth. As one of the best cardiology hospitals in Bangalore, let’s understand these conditions better with help from expert cardiologists.
What Causes CHD?In most cases, the exact cause is unknown but may arise from genetic syndromes, maternal health conditions or substance abuse during pregnancy. Sometimes defects are also due to abnormal heart development in the early stages. The specific type and severity depend on which heart parts are involved.
Now let’s check with the different types of CHDs that you need to be aware of in the next segment.
Types of CHDsBelow are the different types of CHDs to keep in mind:
- Ventricular Septal Defect: A hole in the wall between the ventricles that allows blood mixing.
- Atrial Septal Defect: Presence of an extra hole between the two upper chambers.
- Tetralogy of Fallot: A combination of four abnormalities affecting overall oxygen supply to the body.
- Transposition of the Great Arteries: The aorta and pulmonary artery are switched.
- Truncus Arteriosus: A single blood vessel overrides both ventricles.
- Coarctation of the Aorta: Narrowing of the aorta near the heart.
Often no symptoms at birth but may include rapid breathing, bluish tinted skin, poor weight gain, feeding issues, heart murmurs during checkups by expert cardiologists.
Diagnosis and TreatmentDefinitive diagnosis involves tests like echocardiogram, ECG, chest x-rays. Treatment depends on the type of defect and ranges from medications to catheter-based procedures like angioplasty, stent placement or open-heart corrective surgeries.
Early catheter-based closure in the cath lab is preferable to surgery whenever possible. Surgeries involve bypass, valvuloplasty or complex repairs and are often performed in the initial years itself at top cardiology hospitals to relieve symptoms and boost heart function. Lifelong follow-ups and monitoring are needed.
Specialists for CHD CareA multidisciplinary team of pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, and pediatricians work together to provide comprehensive CHD care. Genetic counseling helps understand risk of recurrence in families. So, it is important that you only connect with the best in the business where you can avail complete care to recover from it.
Living with CHDWith major advances, most babies with CHD now survive well into adulthood. However, lifelong supervision from cardiologists is important to monitor for complications and ensure proper transition of care. Along with regular follow-ups, focus should be on nutrition, vaccination, dental health, lifestyle management and psychological well-being.
Final ThoughtsFrom fetal diagnosis and treatment strategies to long-term management, enrolling with a specialized heart hospital helps access the best CHD care with advanced facilities, expertise and humanitarian approach. Timely intervention leads to nearly normal life expectancies in many cases. Good luck!