LiveLifeMore Show – Congenital Heart Defects – Dr Rajat Gupta

LLM show Dr Rajat Gupta Heart Defects By Birth

In this informative health talk on Congenital Heart Disease, Dietitian Pallavi Jassal talks to Dr. Rajat Gupta, Consultant – Pediatric Cardiology, about the “Heart Defects By Birth”.
 

Congenital heart diseases, or congenital heart defects, are a group of heart abnormality present at birth. The defect can be in: 

  • the blood vessels
  • the heart walls
  • the heart valves
There are many types of congenital heart diseases which range from simple conditions that don’t cause symptoms to complex conditions that may cause severe, life-threatening symptoms.
 
Symptoms of Congenital Heart Diseases

Though, a congenital heart defect can many times be detected during a pregnancy ultrasound. But, in some cases, the signs or symptoms of a birth defect in the heart may not appear until shortly after birth. The newly born baby with congenital heart defects may show one or more of the following signs:

  • bluish discolouration of lips, fingers, toes and skin
  • troubled breathing or breathlessness 
  • difficulties in accepting feeds
  • low body weight at birth
  • pain in chest
  • delay in achieving growth milestones

In some cases, the typical symptoms of congenital heart defects may not get noticed until many years after birth. But, symptoms that develop later, may include:

  • abnormality of heart rhythms or beats
  • giddiness or dizziness
  • troubled breathing or shortness of breath
  • loss of consciousness or fainting 
  • swelling on body
  • easy fatigue or tiredness
 
Causes of Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart diseases often occur as a result of an early developmental problem in the heart’s structure. The defect that interferes with the typically normal flow of blood through the heart and the connecting blood vessels may affect breathing. Although the scientists aren’t exactly sure why the heart fails to develop correctly, suspected causes include the following

  • Usage of certain prescription drugs during pregnancy that may put a child at a higher risk for a heart defect.
  • A positive family history of heart defects
  • Usage of alcohol or drugs during pregnancy
  • A viral infection of the mother during the first trimester of pregnancy 
  • Increase in blood sugar levels in mother or gestational diabetes 
Take care, stay informed, stay blessed & LiveLifeMore.
 
Yours in health awareness,
Dietitian Pallavi Jassal & Dr. Sandeep Jassal,
Team LiveLifeMore
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