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I have questions about Congenital heart defects
Like how does it affects a child physically and mentally? And how is detected?
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Some babies and children with heart defects experience no symptoms. The heart defect may be diagnosed if the doctor hears an abnormal sound, referred to as a murmur. Children with normal hearts also can have heart murmurs. These are called "innocent" or "functional" murmurs. A physician may suggest tests to rule out a heart defect.
Certain heart defects prevent the heart from pumping adequate blood to the lungs or other parts of the body. This can cause congestive heart failure. An affected child may experience a rapid heartbeat and breathing difficulties, especially during exercise (or in infants, during feeding—sometimes resulting in inadequate weight gain). Swelling of the legs or abdomen or around the eyes also may occur.
Some heart defects result in a pale grayish or bluish coloring of the skin (called cyanosis), usually appearing soon after birth or during infancy. On occasion, it may be delayed until later in childhood. It is a sign of defects that prevent the blood from getting enough oxygen. Children with cyanosis may tire easily. Symptoms such as shortness of breath and fainting often worsen when the child exerts himself. Some youngsters may squat frequently to ease their shortness of breath.
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Congenital heart defects, or CHD, are among the most common birth defects. In most cases it can go undetected for years. Scientists are still unsure of the exact cause of CHD, but they think it has something to do with genetics or medications taken by the patient. A child with CHD may experience heart failure, rapid heartbeat or breathing difficulties, especially during exercise. Swelling of the legs or abdomen or around the eyes also may occur. In some cases,heart defects result in a pale grayish or bluish coloring of the skin. A child with CHD is often tired from exerting themselves even the tinyest bit. Thats all i could find on it. Hope i helped! nellie x0x
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Probably came to the wrong site to ask that question!
Heart problems is a very specialized field. I have a link to the wikipedia article on it. It will have links to send you to other various sites for more info.
Hope it helps somewhat with your questions. :)
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An echocardiagram can accurately detect many heart defects. This test needs to be performed by a specialized doctor and not an obstetrician. Some heart defects can be detected through routine ultrasound. Some things that could affect someone with it would be they couldnt do the things that other kids could do. A doctor would tell you exactly what they could do if they determine the type of genital heart defect.
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sorry but i really have no idea. i could look it up so you but i don't think i could give you the best information on it. i just need some time to look it up...ill edit when i get to it. <3
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This is something that I am not that well versed in. I have know direct knowledge with regards to this particular condition. So, what I've done is I've located a few websites that you can go to that will have the answers you are seeking. Here they are:
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Good luck in your quest!
LULABELLE
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Wow i have no clue. But i looked it up online...
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I was skiping through this site & it seemed to have a lot on what your looking for. Sorry I couldn't answer this one by myself. I'm no doctor or anything, hope this helps though ♥
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I pulled this off of Google:
How do heart defects affect a child?
Some babies and children with heart defects experience no symptoms. The heart defect may be diagnosed if the doctor hears an abnormal sound, referred to as a murmur. Children with normal hearts also can have heart murmurs. These are called "innocent" or "functional" murmurs. A physician may suggest tests to rule out a heart defect.
Certain heart defects prevent the heart from pumping adequate blood to the lungs or other parts of the body. This can cause congestive heart failure. An affected child may experience a rapid heartbeat and breathing difficulties, especially during exercise (or in infants, during feeding—sometimes resulting in inadequate weight gain). Swelling of the legs or abdomen or around the eyes also may occur.
Some heart defects result in a pale grayish or bluish coloring of the skin (called cyanosis), usually appearing soon after birth or during infancy. On occasion, it may be delayed until later in childhood. It is a sign of defects that prevent the blood from getting enough oxygen. Children with cyanosis may tire easily. Symptoms such as shortness of breath and fainting often worsen when the child exerts himself. Some youngsters may squat frequently to ease their shortness of breath.
What causes congenital heart defects?
In most cases, scientists do not know what makes a baby's heart develop abnormally. Both genetic and environmental factors appear to play roles.
Among the few environmental factors known to contribute to congenital heart defects are a virus and certain drugs. Women who contract rubella (German measles) during the first three months of pregnancy have a high risk of having a baby with a heart defect. Other viral infections also may contribute.
Certain medications also increase the risk. These include the acne medication Accutane, lithium (used to treat certain forms of mental illness) and, possibly, certain anti-seizure medications. Drinking alcohol in pregnancy also can increase the risk of heart defects—babies with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) often have them. Studies also suggest that use of cocaine in pregnancy increases the risk of these birth defects.
Certain chronic illnesses in the mother also can increase the risk of heart defects. For example, women with diabetes are at increased risk of having a baby with a heart defect, although this risk can be reduced or eliminated if the diabetes is closely controlled, starting before pregnancy. Women with an inborn error of body chemistry called phenylketonuria (PKU) also are at high risk of having a baby with a heart defect, unless they follow a special diet before pregnancy and during the first trimester. Several studies suggest that women who do not consume enough of the B vitamin folic acid before and during the early weeks of pregnancy are at increased risk of having a baby with a heart defect.
While most families have no more than one child with a heart defect, these malformations are more likely to occur in siblings or offspring of people who have heart defects than in unaffected families. This fact has long suggested that genetics plays a role in heart defects, at least in those families. In fact, scientists have recently discovered more than 100 mutations (changes) in more than a dozen genes that directly impair the heart. Many of these mutations cause cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the heart) or heart rhythm disturbances that can be fatal in childhood, adolescence or adulthood.
However, scientists also have pinpointed several mutations that affect the formation of the heart, leading to congenital heart malformations. For example, in 1999 a March of Dimes grantee at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas discovered a gene that appears to contribute to a common, important group of malformations affecting the heart’s outflow tract and the blood vessels arising from it. Researchers at Harvard Medical School identified a gene responsible for the heart defect called atrial septal defect (a hole between the upper chambers of the heart) in four families with multiple members affected by heart disease. The same researchers also identified another gene mutation that causes atrial septal defects accompanied by arm and hand malformations (Holt-Oram syndrome).
Researchers appear to be on the brink of discovering the genes that underlie numerous heart defects. They have recently identified several genes that direct development of the embryonic heart in mice. This should greatly improve our understanding of these genes’ human counterparts—and possibly lead to ways to prevent the various heart defects that mutations of those genes may cause.
Heart defects also can be part of a wider pattern of birth defects. For example, more than one-third of children with the chromosomal abnormality Down syndrome (characterized by mental retardation and physical birth defects) have heart defects, as do about a quarter of girls with another chromosomal abnormality called Turner syndrome (short stature, lack of sexual development and other problems). In fact, approximately 10 percent of children with heart defects have a chromosomal abnormality. Children with Down, Turner and certain other chromosomal abnormalities should be routinely evaluated for heart defects. Heart defects also are common in children with a variety of inherited disorders, including: Noonan (short stature, learning disabilities), Alagille (liver and other problems), Marfan (skeletal and eye defects) and Williams (mental retardation) syndromes.
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Certain heart defects prevent the heart from pumping the blood to the lungs or other parts of the body. This can cause congestive heart failure. An child whos infected may experience rapid heartbeat and breathing difficulties. Swelling of the legs or abdomen or around the eyes can also happen. In children or in infants it might not even show any symptoms. Doctors might detect it by how the child breathes, one little uncertain breathe can show the doctor there is something wrong.
Thats all I really know, but I hope I helped...
Your friend, Vanessa
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um, i have no idea what so ever, sorry
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