What is Congenital Heart Disease?

Congenital Heart Disease, sometimes expressed as CHD, is an irregularity in the heart or a large blood vessel near the heart. It’s one of the most common birth defects, affecting about eight of every one thousand newborns. 40-50% of congenital heart disease cases are diagnosed within a week of birth.

Congenital heart disease develops when the heart or blood vessels near the heart do not grow properly before birth. The heart can’t pump because it isn’t as developed as it should be. Also there could be an abnormal flow of blood through the heart because blood flow is obstructed in the vessels nearby. These flow obstructions strain the heart muscle causing it to work harder and beat faster. A hole in the walls of the heart may cause abnormal blood flow. There also may be an abnormal connection between two arteries outside the heart.

Before birth, congenital heart disease is not a problem because blood circulation differs from that after birth. The expectant mother provides nutrients and oxygen for the fetal circulation through the placenta. Without screening most types of congenital heart disease go undetected in the fetus and are well tolerated during fetal life.

Screening for CHD before birth is done by an obstetric ultrasound. It’s usually done at around 20 weeks of pregnancy when the moving structures of the fetal heart are large enough to be imaged. If CHD is suspected, a mother will be referred for a fetal echocardiograph, which is a more detailed, diagnostic ultrasound scan by a specialist cardiologist. If CHD is suspected from other factors, such as a family history it’s possible now for specialists to screen for CHD as early as 14 weeks.

Causes of Congenital Heart Disease

There are many possible causes of congenital heart disease such as:

* Chromosome Abnormalities - Downs’s syndrome is a common chromosome abnormality that causes CHD. 50% of children with Downs’s syndrome also have congenital heart disease.

* Maternal Diseases - Maternal diseases in the mother during pregnancy such as measles or rubella during pregnancy are an infection that can impair the fetal heart or other organs.

* Environment - Environmental factors such as chemicals or drugs are to blame at times. Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is another risk of impairment to the unborn baby.

Congenital Heart Disease Treatment

Congenital heart disease treatment will differ from person to person because of the great difference in occurrence of the disease in different cases. All of the factors found through a proper diagnosis by a specialist must be considered in order to develop effective treatment.

While a healthy diet and good exercise program always helps any heart patient, one with congenital heart disease needs to strictly follow the doctor’s instructions. No self-medication or treatment whatsoever is advised. However, information and guidelines are available on line and in the doctor’s office to help one educate himself in order to deal better with congenital heart disease and its treatment.

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