Congenital Heart Disease

What is congenital heart disease?

Congenital heart disease is a defect of the heart that exists at birth. This means that the heart did not develop normally before birth.

There are 3 kinds of problems caused by congenital heart disease or defects:

• The heart cannot pump blood because it is not completely developed.
• Blood flow in the heart is obstructed.
• Blood flows in an abnormal direction through the heart or major blood vessels.

If a part of the heart does not develop completely, the heart may not function well when the child is born. Blood flow obstruction occurs when either the heart valves or the arteries leading from the heart are abnormal. This can put a strain on the heart muscle.

Abnormal blood flow usually occurs when there is a hole in the walls of the heart. There may be an abnormal connection between 2 arteries outside the heart. In some cases, blood enters the body that should go to the lungs. When this happens, the child will have cyanosis (a bluish color) of the skin or lips. At other times, blood may go to the lungs that should go to the body. This puts a strain on the heart and lungs.

How does it occur?

Most of the time the causes of congenital heart disease are not known. Some conditions that increase the risk of being born with a heart defect include:

• congenital heart disease in other family members
• diabetes in the mother
• an infection in the mother during pregnancy, such as rubella (German measles).

A medicine or drug the mother has used may also increase the risk that a baby will be born with a heart defect.

What are the symptoms?

Most defects cause a whispering sound, or murmur, as blood moves through the heart. Symptoms may include shortness of breath and chest pain.

How is it diagnosed?

Mild congenital heart defects may not be noticed until adulthood. Your healthcare provider will ask about your medical history and examine you. Your provider may order tests such as an ultrasound or heart dye X-ray test. An oxygen monitor can show if the oxygen level in the blood is low.

How is it treated?

Sometimes the defect improves without treatment. At other times the defect is small and does not require treatment. Occasionally, the congenital heart defect is serious and needs to be repaired by surgery. Some defects may be able to be repaired using catheters rather than open heart surgery.

Many people with congenital heart defects can live normal lives. Some may need to limit their activities and take medicines. Almost everyone with congenital defects should take antibiotics before dental procedures or before tests to look into the bladder or rectum. The use of antibiotics before the procedures can prevent infection.