What are the causes of congenital heart disease, their symptoms and signs?
As part of the campaign to help children with heart disease, we continue a series of publications on the topics: What is congenital heart disease (congenital heart disease)? What variants of the Air Force exist or the Air Force classification? What is endovascular treatment (surgery)? And also stories of children with heart defects who will be helped within the action. Today, we will tell you what are the causes of congenital heart disease, their symptoms and signs?
When giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease, many parents believe that an event may have occurred during pregnancy that adversely affected the development of the fetus. However, at present, most doctors do not know the exact causes and mechanisms of the formation of the UPU.
According to some statistical studies, the probability of developing various heart defects is in some connection with heredity. For example, if one of the parents has UTI, the probability of having a child with congenital heart disease increases compared to a family without such a disease. In addition, children with a genetic defect are more likely than normal children to develop congenital heart disease. A typical example of the association of a genetic defect in chromosomes and VPS is Down syndrome. When this syndrome is detected, the probability of developing congenital heart disease reaches 50%, that is, half of infants with Down syndrome have some form of heart disease.
Researchers have linked the appearance of such changes in a child’s body to a number of mutagenic factors. These include physical mutagens (exposure to ionizing radiation), chemical mutagens (phenols, nitrates, antibiotics, etc.) and biological mutagens (rubella virus is especially dangerous in the first trimester of pregnancy, various metabolic disorders - diabetes or phenylimutonuria diseases - systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.).
What are the symptoms or signs of congenital heart disease?
As mentioned earlier, many UTIs are completely asymptomatic and are not accompanied by signs of circulatory disorders. In rare cases, congenital heart disease is detected by a pediatric cardiologist during auscultation of the child during preventive examinations.
Some of the defects are accompanied by the appearance of symptoms of heart disease, and the more complex the defect itself, the more pronounced will be its symptoms and clinical picture of the disease. The most symptomatic are usually newborns and children of the first year of life. Among the main symptoms of congenital heart disease are the following:
- Rapid and frequent shallow breathing, shortness of breath, heart failure.
- Cyanosis (cyanosis of the skin, lips and nails).
- Fatigue and fatigue of the child.
- Signs of chronic disorders of normal blood circulation - developmental delay, growth.
UTIs rarely lead to symptoms such as chest pain or other symptoms of heart disease.
Abnormal blood flow, which is a consequence of changes in the structure of the heart, leads to the formation of a certain sound or noise in the heart, which a pediatric cardiologist can listen to with a stethoscope. However, this does not mean that heart murmurs are a necessary sign of a heart defect.
The normal growth and development of a child largely depends on the proper functioning and load on the heart, as well as the supply of oxygen-enriched blood to all organs and systems of the body. Sometimes the first sign of the presence of UTI is cyanosis of the skin and rapid fatigue of the child during feeding. An indirect reflection of a possible UTI can be the slow weight gain and slow growth of the newborn.
Most combined (complex) heart defects lead to excessive heart rate and signs of myocardial depletion. At the same time, the heart does not cope with its main function - the function of pumping blood through the vascular bed, which is accompanied by the appearance of symptoms of heart failure:
- Fatigue and fatigue during exercise and exercise.
- Accumulation of blood and fluid in the lungs - the formation of plethora and pulmonary edema.
- Accumulation of fluid in the lower extremities, especially in the ankles and feet - soft tissue edema.
- Shortness of breath.
When giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease, many parents believe that an event may have occurred during pregnancy that adversely affected the development of the fetus. However, at present, most doctors do not know the exact causes and mechanisms of the formation of the UPU.
According to some statistical studies, the probability of developing various heart defects is in some connection with heredity. For example, if one of the parents has UTI, the probability of having a child with congenital heart disease increases compared to a family without such a disease. In addition, children with a genetic defect are more likely than normal children to develop congenital heart disease. A typical example of the association of a genetic defect in chromosomes and VPS is Down syndrome. When this syndrome is detected, the probability of developing congenital heart disease reaches 50%, that is, half of infants with Down syndrome have some form of heart disease.
Researchers have linked the appearance of such changes in a child’s body to a number of mutagenic factors. These include physical mutagens (exposure to ionizing radiation), chemical mutagens (phenols, nitrates, antibiotics, etc.) and biological mutagens (rubella virus is especially dangerous in the first trimester of pregnancy, various metabolic disorders - diabetes or phenylimutonuria diseases - systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.).
What are the symptoms or signs of congenital heart disease?
As mentioned earlier, many UTIs are completely asymptomatic and are not accompanied by signs of circulatory disorders. In rare cases, congenital heart disease is detected by a pediatric cardiologist during auscultation of the child during preventive examinations.
Some of the defects are accompanied by the appearance of symptoms of heart disease, and the more complex the defect itself, the more pronounced will be its symptoms and clinical picture of the disease. The most symptomatic are usually newborns and children of the first year of life. Among the main symptoms of congenital heart disease are the following:
- Rapid and frequent shallow breathing, shortness of breath, heart failure.
- Cyanosis (cyanosis of the skin, lips and nails).
- Fatigue and fatigue of the child.
- Signs of chronic disorders of normal blood circulation - developmental delay, growth.
UTIs rarely lead to symptoms such as chest pain or other symptoms of heart disease.
Abnormal blood flow, which is a consequence of changes in the structure of the heart, leads to the formation of a certain sound or noise in the heart, which a pediatric cardiologist can listen to with a stethoscope. However, this does not mean that heart murmurs are a necessary sign of a heart defect.
The normal growth and development of a child largely depends on the proper functioning and load on the heart, as well as the supply of oxygen-enriched blood to all organs and systems of the body. Sometimes the first sign of the presence of UTI is cyanosis of the skin and rapid fatigue of the child during feeding. An indirect reflection of a possible UTI can be the slow weight gain and slow growth of the newborn.
Most combined (complex) heart defects lead to excessive heart rate and signs of myocardial depletion. At the same time, the heart does not cope with its main function - the function of pumping blood through the vascular bed, which is accompanied by the appearance of symptoms of heart failure:
- Fatigue and fatigue during exercise and exercise.
- Accumulation of blood and fluid in the lungs - the formation of plethora and pulmonary edema.
- Accumulation of fluid in the lower extremities, especially in the ankles and feet - soft tissue edema.
- Shortness of breath.