Annually about 10 thousand children with congenital heart disease in a baby are born in our country. For every thousand births there are 10 children who need heart surgery.
Operations for congenital heart disease account for 5% of the total volume of the most frequent pathologies, which use high-tech medical care.
Congenital diseases are those that arose during the period of intrauterine development. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is formed at 21-28 weeks of pregnancy and immediately leads to violations in the development of a small heart. As a result, cardiac blood flow changes and heart failure develops.
Congenital heart defects in the baby, which are accompanied by cyanosis of the skin (doctors call them "blue") appear immediately after the birth of the child.The flaws in which the skin becomes pale and cold ("white"), can last for many years without symptoms and are accidentally detected preventive medical examination.
Establish UPU in a future child is possible only in specialized clinics, although obvious heart defects may be suspected in the women's consultation.
Causes
Why does the baby develop heart disease? For obvious reasons are: viral infections (rubella, measles, influenza, cytomegalovirus). If the mother falls ill with them in the first trimester, then the normal development of the heart of the future baby is broken. Doctors believe that bad ecology, stress, toxicosis in the early stages of pregnancy, acute or chronic illnesses of the pregnant woman are to blame for the appearance of the UPU. Genetic predisposition also plays a role.
Diagnostic features
It is better to establish the UPU still in utero. This can be done in special institutions or clinics with a good diagnostic base.
Mom will be recorded for a specialist consultation, and he will talk about the prospects that await the child.
Sometimes doctors prescribe to their mother medicines that support cardiac activity and improve the metabolic processes in the baby.
In some cases, specialized treatment is required in utero. For example, antiarrhythmic and metabolic drugs that improve metabolic processes in the fetal myocardium.
We must observe the regime of the day , lead an active, but sparing lifestyle. A balanced, nutritious diet rich in vitamins and microelements is needed.
If something did not please your gynecologist in the women's consultation, the future mommy should as soon as possible go to a cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon for a more complete examination.
Many mothers are worried that if a baby is diagnosed with heart disease, they will certainly have to give birth with caesarean section. This is not true. With a favorable combination of circumstances, you can safely give birth naturally.
Remember that you only need to contact a professional cardiac surgeon who will explain to the expectant mother what a malformation the baby has, what kind of surgery is needed, what results to expect.
To detect a CHD in a newborn, the doctor can by characteristic signs: cyanotic color of the lips, ear shells, and also cyanosis of the skin that occurs when the baby is breast-feeding when he screams.
In case of "white" congenital heart defects in a child, the pale skin of the child, its cold hands and legs, indicates the disease, sometimes a sign of vice is a noise in the heart, although it is not necessary.
Changes in the electrocardiogram, X-rays and echographic examination also indicate the likelihood of congenital heart disease in the baby. It is necessary to consult an experienced cardiologist.
Operation or treatment?
As a rule, if the heart disease is not very complicated, the child will simply be observed by specialists. With simple heart defects moderate physical exertion is possible.
Mom and the baby may also need the help not only of cardiologists, but also of a professional psychologist, to calm them (especially to mother who can become anxious and unnecessarily restless, and this should not be) and suggest how to behave in such a disease.
With more severe forms of heart disease, surgery is required. It relieves the blemish and normalizes the cardiac circulation.
During surgery, abnormally developed parts of the heart or vessels can be corrected by one of several methods available to doctors.
Some vices can not be eliminated, and help can be provided only in the form of facilitating procedures that allow you to gain time.
At the reception in the cardiology center, the cardiologist will explain and discuss with you the necessary treatment program for the child. The cardiosurgeon will also be invited to the consultation, which will tell you about the progress of the forthcoming operation and possible results.
The duration of the operation depends on the complexity of the defect and the method of surgical intervention, which will be chosen by a doctor or a consultation of doctors.
During the operation, doctors correct incorrectly developed parts of the heart or vessels, setting up the work of this important organ.
In some clinics during the operation, the apparatus of artificial circulation is used, which takes on the functions of the heart and lungs.
Another method is deep cooling of the body: when the need for oxygen decreases, and the heart stops during the main stage of the operation. In Ukraine, a unique operation was performed, when the cooling of the body temperature to 28 degrees, the circulation was stopped for 97 minutes!
After surgery, the child will need to take painkillers, diuretics, antibiotics. This will help reduce the risk of complications to a minimum. Also, the physician will prescribe physiotherapy procedures: chest massage, breathing exercises to stimulate expectoration, to avoid stagnant phenomena in the lungs.
These rehabilitation procedures are prescribed, as a rule, once in 3-4 months - depending on the type of heart disease and the stability of the condition.
Where to go?
In many regions, there are quotas for free operations. But it is necessary to start with the placement of the child in the local cardio-dispensary. Then parents should apply to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. However, for the operation to be carried out on time, they need to show activity and determination.
In Ukraine, the heart of the world-famous National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery them. N.M. Amosov. Here, for the first time in Ukraine in 1955, an operation was performed to eliminate congenital heart disease (by Nikolai Amosov himself).
Annually in the walls of the institute is about 1,5 thousand operations with congenital heart disease. Specialists of the center believe that most children with UPU should be operated at an early age.
Consultations, diagnosis and treatment for young patients are free of charge (funds are allocated from the state budget). For hospitalization it is necessary to prepare the following documents: the birth certificate of the child, the passport of the mother or father with the Ukrainian residence permit, the medical card of the baby or other certificates indicating the state of his health. Before hospitalization of the child it is necessary to write down to reception in an out-patient department at Intithute which also will give out you one more important document - the advisory conclusion.
Heart disease is not a verdict. It's important not to despair and help the baby in time.