According to the World Health Organization (WHO), heart disease accounts for 17.7 million deaths in India. These figures include include children with congenital heart defects (CHDs). Experts discussed the symptoms of CHD in newborn newborns. “Congenital heart disease refers to a structural abnormality in the heart that exists from birth (CHD). It is the most frequent congenital defect among newborns. These diseases present in a variety of ways: some appear immediately after birth, others in the first week after your newborn is discharged from the hospital, and still others later in life “Dr. Naveen Prakash Gupta, Senior Consultant Neonatology at Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital, confirmed this.\
Swelling in the legs, belly, or around the eyes, excessive exhaustion, lethargy, or a blue tint to the skin or lips (cyanosis) are some of the signs to watch for, according to Dr. Dhiren Gupta, Senior Consultant, Gangaram hospital (New Delhi). He feels that all newborn newborns should have their pulse oximeters checked.
Dr Naveen emphasised that “if your kid is having difficulties feeding or quick breathing especially after feeding or heavy perspiration after feeding or he/she appears blue, you should assume cardiac issues.” Sometimes only the hands and feet are blue while the rest of the body is pink, which might be due to the chilly environment.
In order to detect cardiac problems, the lips or tongue should be blue.”
“Many structural cardiac abnormalities can be detected during a standard prenatal ultrasound. An prenatal scan performed at 20-22 weeks of gestation typically detects significant structural issues in the heart “He continued.
Heart problems in newborn newborns are divided into two categories: those in which the baby is blue (referred to as cyanotic heart disease) and those in which the baby is pink but has other concerns such as feeding difficulty, excessive sweating, decreased urination, and failure to gain weight. Acyanotic heart disease is the medical term for this ailment.
Many issues arise later in life (after newborn kids have been discharged), and parents are unaware of them.
“A simple test called pulse oximetry screening may assist to discover cardiac abnormalities in your new born,” says Dr. Naveen. A pulse oximeter is a device that detects blood oxygen saturation.”
“All neonates born in the hospital should have pulse oximetry screening,” he argues. All neonates should have their oxygen saturations tested on the right hand and either foot at 24 hours of age. If the saturation level at each location is more than or equal to 95%, it is referred to as a negative screen (indicating that the infant does not have a cardiac issue).
A positive screen is one in which the saturation level at either location is less than 90%. (meaning there is a probability that the baby may have a heart problem). If the screen comes up positive, we should do a definitive test echocardiography (heart ultrasound) before release to confirm or rule out structural heart disease.”
“If the saturation level is 90-94 percent, the procedure should be done again at one-hour intervals. It is a negative screen if the saturation is more than or equal to 95% on any of the repeat readings. It is a positive screen if the saturation is less than 90% on any of the repeat readings.
If saturation levels remain between 90 and 94% on subsequent measures, consider it a negative screen and schedule an echocardiography. Also, if the saturation difference between the upper and lower extremities is greater than or equivalent to 4% on two to three successive tests separated by one hour, consider it a positive screen,” he stated.
Experts advise parents to visit a paediatric cardiologist. He will do echocardiogram on you and explain the situation. Not all cardiac disorders necessitate medical intervention. A paediatric cardiologist, on the other hand, will describe the technique and provide a timetable for when the echocardiogram may be repeated.
A cardiologist may be of tremendous assistance if your infant or child has a cardiac disease that requires treatment; he can admit the baby and execute the appropriate intervention.
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