What do I do if my Child has Heart Disease?
Diagnosing your child with a heart disease ends you in miserable agony. Parents start speculating for the underlying reasons for the plethora of questions they have like: Why does their child have to suffer? What could have gone wrong? What will be the impact on my child? Is the disease life-threatening? And numerous such questions will strike them, and they won’t leave a single stone unturned to regain their child’s health. Heart diseasese seem to be uncommon, but you will be astonished to hear that in India alone, more than 2,40,000 kids are born with heart disease posing a tremendous challenge to families both mentally and economically. Unveiling the causes, common effects of heart disease in early stages, and substantial treatments and precautions; the post is all you need to read for a conclusive understanding of if your child has the disease.
What is heart disease? Heart disease refers to the defects present in the heart that may be related to its structure or internal functioning. Heart diseases vary from mild to severe. Some kids are born with heart disease, which refers to the congenital disease, and some
establish it later in growing stages due to specific defects. Said that every year more than 1.35 million babies are born with congenital heart disease worldwide, with the infant mortality rate reaching 48.6%.
What causes a heart defect? When we talk about kids having heart disease, it is evident that the development of the heart defect took place in the uterus. The doctors often detect the underlying cause of the defect development inside the mother.
For better understanding, we enlist the common causes of heart diseases among kids • The fault in the walls of the heart like the presence of a hole in the heart. • The defect in the valves of the heart is that they may be either wholly blocked or narrow. • The mix-up of the blood with and without oxygen can result in improper heart pumping. • The genetic disorder or family history. • Prolonged illness in the child can have harmful impacts on a child’s heart. • Rare cases where the viral infection in the kids has been the root cause of the heart defect. • Issues with the heart muscle leading to improper pumping function of the heart.
Treatment of heart disease The treatment varies from patient to patient, depending on the medical condition of the heart. Some kids may not require any treatment due to the presence of very mild disease. To decide the right treatment, the heart specialist for children
performs an appropriate prognosis process that determines the root cause of the disease, its impact, and ways to treat it.
Following the diagnosis of heart disease, the doctors recommend any of the below-mentioned treatment for your child Medicine Doctors recommend medication treatment for children housing mild heart diseases. The intake of medications can continue until a lifetime or end once the heart condition becomes stable, and your child’s health improves.
Surgery With medical institutions embracing modern technology and using the latest medical practices, the surgical interventions for children have become safer and less risk-prone. The doctors inform you beforehand about the risks and complications that are accompanied by heart surgery, helping you make an informed decision. Depending on your child's medical condition, the heart specialist may perform the surgery immediately or may wait for your child to attain the right age. Also, the heart condition decides the number of operations.
Other procedures When the usual medication and surgical treatment do no good in improvising your child's heart condition, doctors start inclining towards other procedures which include:
Pacemaker implantation The doctors recommend the pacemaker insertion to enable the heart's pepper functioning that medicines or other small surgical interventions failed at. Also, in case of heart failure, a pacemaker helps the heart in pumping the blood efficiently.
Heart transplantation In the rarest cases, when nothing works to improve heart health, the doctor decides to go for heart transplantation. Such decisions are made, especially in the case of worsening heart failure.
Effects of heart disease on your child Diagnosing one’s child with a heart disease leaves every parent in jitters. The ultimate fear that horrifies them is if heart disease leads to their child’s death. Recent updates in medical practices and the use of the latest technology are helping the medical facilities to accurately treat heart disease, making fatal endings a rare case. Although, the right treatments can help your child regain heart health and continue with an active and healthy life, yet you need to consult with a doctor about the lifestyle modifications that need to be brought in your child’s life. Said that heart disease could restrict your child’s routine activities like running, excess of playing outdoors, and much more. Along with exercises, specific dietary restrictions can be imposed depending on your child’s health. It is imperative to recognize the symptoms and signs early and get the treatment as soon as possible to minimize the effects of heart disease.
Consistent doctor follow-ups After your child’s treatment is accomplished, make sure you keep a consistent watch on your child’s routine functioning and often visit the doctor for regular checkups. The recovery period varies from patient to patient depending on the treatment procedure and their medical condition. Setup regular consultations with the child cardiologists, pediatrician, and heart specialists to avoid any negligence that may result in irreparable damage.
Wrapping up Seeing your child suffer can be tormenting, but it is critically essential to handle the situation wisely. Try not to ignore any unusual signs and symptoms that your child shows to avoid any unnecessary delay in getting heart treatment. Go for regular checkups and prepare your child beforehand if the surgical intervention is the solution. Informing your child if he is grown-up about his medical condition is imperative for better recovery and health. With everything said, if your child is suffering from heart disease and you're searching for the best hospital, then my dear friends, Amandeep Group of Hospitals in Amritsar, is the right place for you. We are well equipped with stateof-art technologies and medical practices to treat your child’s heart disease. We have the expert and proficient team of child heart specialists in Amritsar who will perform the right heart treatment.