More Info about
Congenital Heart diseases
What are Congenital Heart Diseases?
Congenital heart diseases are abnormalities of the structure of the heart, which a person carries with him from the day of his birth. In other words, those suffering from congenital heart diseases are born with some "structural" problem in the heart. The word "kin" means "by birth." The term should not be confused with "kinship," in the sense of heredity, with which it has but little to do.
It is encouraging that many congenital heart diseases are now detected by fetal
echocardiography. However, the majority of them are diagnosed in the neonatal period, usually
by the pediatrician in the maternity ward or during the first weeks or months of life.
However, there are also several cases where very significant congenital heart diseases can be
found at any time in childhood, adolescence or even after adulthood. Such cases may include a
referral from the pediatrician to a pediatric cardiologist, who is called upon to evaluate a
child with a heart murmur (nine out of ten children are referred for evaluation of a heart murmur),
with cyanosis or with signs and symptoms of heart failure.
Referral to a physician specialized and experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease is vital in order to accurately determine the nature of the problem. A pediatric cardiologist is the doctor who has the knowledge and expertise to determine:
- The nature of the heart problem
- Medication, if indicated
- The frequency of visits needed to monitor the patient and possible tests
- Invasive non-surgical cardiac treatment, if indicated
- Referral of the patient for possible surgical treatment of the problem by a pediatric cardiac surgeon-cardiac surgeon specializing in congenital heart disease.
