"Defect of the heart in a child" - sometimes these words sound like a sentence. What is this disease? Is such a diagnosis really so terrible and what methods are used to treat it?
Child diagnosed with heart disease
There are times when people live with one kidney, half a stomach, no gallbladder. But it is impossible to imagine a person who lives without a heart: after this organ stops its work, within a few minutes the life in the body fades completely and irrevocably. That's why a child's heart disease diagnosis is so scary for parents.
If you do not go into medical subtleties, then the described disease is associated with improper functioning of the heart valves, along with which the organ itself gradually fails. This problem is the most common cause of heart disease, but not the only one. In addition, there are cases when the disease develops as a result of an incorrect structure:
- body walls;
- cardiac septa;
- large heart vessels.
Such changes may becongenital defects, and may be acquired during life.
Congenital heart disease
If a child was born with a heart defect, then this disease is called congenital.
Statistics show that approximately 1% of newly born babies suffer from this disease. Why is heart disease in newborns so common? It all depends on what kind of lifestyle the mother leads during gestation.
The question of whether or not the baby will be he althy is decided in the first months of pregnancy. The risk of giving birth to a child with a heart defect increases significantly if the expectant mother during this period:
- drank alcohol;
- smoked;
- exposed to radiation;
- suffered from a viral illness or vitamin deficiency;
- took illegal drugs.
If you notice the symptoms of heart disease in children early and start treatment on time, then there are chances to fully restore the normal functioning of the organ. Conversely, if the problem is detected late, then irreversible changes will occur in the structure of the heart muscle, and an urgent operation will be needed.
Acquired heart disease
Acquired heart defects in children are usually caused by a malfunctioning valve system. This problem is solved surgically: prosthetic valves help to return to the previous active life.
Causes of disease
Acquired heart disease in a child is formeddue to many reasons.
- Rheumatic endocarditis. This disease affects the heart valves, in the stroma of which granulomas form. In 75% of cases, it is rheumatic endocarditis that causes the development of the disease.
- Diffuse connective tissue diseases. Pathologies such as lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis and others often lead to complications in the kidneys and heart.
- Chest injury. Any powerful blows to the chest area are highly likely to cause the development of a defect.
- Unsuccessful heart surgery. After already performed operations on the heart, such as valvotomy, complications occur that provoke the development of the defect.
- Atherosclerosis. This is a chronic disease of the arteries and blood vessels, on the walls of which atherosclerotic plaques begin to form. Rarely enough, but atherosclerosis also causes changes in the work and structure of the heart.
From this list it is clear that if a heart defect has developed in a child, the reasons for this can be very diverse. But it is important to find them, if only to ensure that the prescribed treatment is competent and most effective.
Symptoms
Heart defects in children are accompanied by specific symptoms that you need to know about and sound the alarm if your baby has them.
During an on-duty examination, a pediatrician may hear a heart murmur in a sick child. After their discovery, the attending physician must prescribe an ultrasound scan. But the diagnosis of "heart disease" cannot be confirmed, since functional heart murmurs are the norm in growing children.
In the first months of life, the physical development of babies is very intensive, every month they must gain weight at least 400 g. heart problems.
Lethargy and fatigue of the child is also an obvious signal of he alth problems. If shortness of breath is added to all this, then the risk of hearing an unpleasant diagnosis increases.
Research methods
Defects of the heart in children, unfortunately, are rarely detected on time. There are several reasons for this.
- Firstly, during pregnancy it is almost impossible to establish the development of the disease in a child. An experienced specialist during a transvaginal ultrasound may notice certain changes in the baby's heart, but many pathologies do not yet appear at this time. The categories of women who are at risk were indicated above - it is better for such mothers to take the initiative and undergo a transabdominal ultrasound at the 20th week of pregnancy.
- Secondly, after the birth of children, examinations for heart defects are not included in the list of mandatory tests and examinations. And parents themselves do not take the initiative and do not carry out additional diagnostic procedures.
- Third, from the very beginning, the symptoms of the disease do not make themselves felt. And even if the child feels that something is happening to himthen he can't explain it. Parents, on the other hand, are too busy with daily routines to regularly take their baby to certain examinations.
Newborns usually do only an ECG and a few more tests, this, as a rule, ends the diagnosis. However, an electrocardiogram at such a young age is not able to detect congenital heart disease. If you conduct an ultrasound examination, it is possible to determine the disease at an early stage. Much here depends on the experience of the specialist who does the ultrasound. It is better to repeat the procedure in several clinics at once, especially if a heart defect is suspected.
Course of illness
If the symptoms of heart disease in children brought you to the doctor's office, and the diagnosis was confirmed - this is not a reason to despair.
The course of the disease does not always lead to sad consequences. For example, left atrioventricular valve insufficiency I and II degree allow people to live from 20 to 40 years without surgery, while maintaining a certain degree of activity.
But the same diagnosis, but already III and IV degrees, accompanied by shortness of breath during physical exertion, swelling of the lower extremities, liver problems, requires an immediate course of treatment and urgent surgical intervention.
Diagnosis
Signs of heart disease in children, noticed by parents and pediatrician, are not yet the basis for a diagnosis. As mentioned above, systolic murmur is also observed in he althy children, so ultrasound is indispensable here.
Echocardiogram can register signs of overload of the left heart ventricle. You may also need an X-ray of the chest, which will show changes not only in the heart, but also signs of deviation of the esophagus. After that, you can finally talk about whether the child is sick or he althy.
Unfortunately, the ECG is not able to help in the diagnosis of heart disease in the early stages: changes in the cardiogram are noticeable when the disease is already actively progressing.
Treatment of heart disease with conservative methods
Confirmed signs of heart disease in children is a reason to start immediate treatment to prevent irreversible changes in the organ.
Doctors do not always turn to surgical methods - some patients do not need surgery, at least until a certain time. What is really needed is the prevention of the disease that provoked the ailment we are considering.
If a heart disease is detected in children, treatment involves a competent daily routine. Such children definitely need to lead an active and mobile lifestyle, accompanied by moderate physical activity. But overwork - physical or mental - is categorically contraindicated. Aggressive and hard sports should be avoided, but walking, rollerblading or cycling and so on will be useful.
It is possible that drug therapy will be required to help eliminate heart failure. Diet also plays a key role in the treatment of the disease.
Treatment of diseaseoperational methods
When a heart defect is detected in children, operations are mandatory when it comes to the last stages of the disease, which medications and diet cannot cope with.
With the development of new technologies, surgical treatment has become available not only for children from one year old, but even for infants. Once acquired heart disease is diagnosed, the main goal of surgery is to keep the person's own heart valves functioning. In the case of congenital defects or disorders that cannot be corrected, valve replacement is required. Prosthetics can be made from mechanical or biological materials. Actually, the cost of the operation depends on this.
The operation is done on an open heart under cardiopulmonary bypass. Rehabilitation after such a surgical intervention is long, requires patience, and most importantly - attention to a small patient.
Bloody operation
It's no secret that due to the state of he alth, not everyone survives such heart surgeries. And this fact depressed medical scientists, so for many years they have been looking for ways to improve the survival of patients. In the end, there was such a technology of surgical intervention as "bloodless surgery".
The first operation without breast incisions, without a scalpel and virtually without blood was successfully performed in Russia in 2009 by a Russian professor and his French colleague. The patient was considered terminally illbecause he had aortic valve stenosis. This valve should have been replaced, but due to various reasons, the likelihood of the patient surviving was not very high.
The prosthesis was inserted into the patient's aorta without chest incisions (through a puncture in the thigh). Then, using a catheter, the valve was directed in the right direction - towards the heart. A special technology for manufacturing the prosthesis allows it to be rolled into a tube when inserted, but as soon as it enters the aorta, it opens to normal sizes. These operations are recommended for the elderly and some children who are not able to undergo full-scale surgery.
Rehab
Cardiology rehabilitation is divided into several stages.
The first one lasts three to six months. During this period, a person is taught special rehabilitation exercises, a nutritionist explains new principles of nutrition, and a cardiologist observes positive changes in the work of the body, a psychologist helps to adapt to new living conditions.
The central place in the program is given to proper physical activity, since it is necessary to keep in good shape not only the heart muscle, but also the heart vessels. Physical activity helps control blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure levels, and also helps to lose weight.
Constantly lying down and resting after surgery is harmful. The heart must get used to the normal rhythm of life, and it is precisely dosed physical activity that helps it do this: walking, running, exercise bikes, swimming, walking. Basketball, volleyball, and weight training equipment are contraindicated.
