Pediatric Cardiology
Pediatric Cardiology refers to cardiac irregularities in a child aged 18 years. It also includes all types of heart conditions and ailments that occur in early childhood. In many cases, infants are diagnosed with body structural defects while some children might encounter severe heart issues. Young adolescents below aged 18 years might not display heart issues profoundly. However, in many countries, the pediatric cardiology department is facing huge struggles to manage the increased number of young patients.
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Everything You Need To Know About Pediatric Cardiology
A common condition of Pediatric Cardiology
Aortic Valve Stenosis –
In this condition, the valve of the heart narrows down that restricting the flow of blood. This type of health defect might be an existing condition from the birth of the child. In the case of congenital, it is assumed that in the first eight months of pregnancy, the aortic valve development has been impacted. There are varied types of treatments which might be surgical and non-surgical.
Pulmonary Artery Stenosis–
The heart vessels and pulmonary artery narrow restricting blood flow from the heart into the lungs. If non-surgical treatment plans fail then the physician might treat through the surgical methodology.
Cardiomyopathy–
This condition occurs when the heart is not able to pump blood in a normal way. There are varied underlying conditions which might be viral infections or irregular heart rhythm. In many cases, experts have not been able to detect the exact issue for the distress of heart muscles. Cardiomyopathy is usually treated through surgeries and different types of medication.
Arrhythmia–
Arrhythmia is a heart condition when irregularities in the heart rhythm are observed. This causes reduced blood pump which impacts the body function. The heartbeats might be very fast, or slow. Doctors treat this condition with medications, implanting pacemakers, and others.
Endocarditis–
This condition involves heart infections which are usually treated through varied medication.
Aortic Coarctation–
The narrowing of the aorta is named Aortic Coarctation of which the treatment usually involves removal of parts or stent insertion.
Symptoms for Cardiac Issues in children
Some common symptoms observed in children with congenital heart issues include low weight at birth, chest pain, delay in growth and development, changed color of lips, skin, and fingers, issues while feeding. The defects in heart health might vary from life-threatening to normal ones. Other profound symptoms are listed below.
Frequent Passing out or Fainting
Syncope is another symptom that indicates the seriousness of the issues. Syncope is a condition when younger children either faint or passes out. Fainting might cause distress to the family members while it might also result in internal & external injuries. If such a type of fainting occurs regularly, then, the pediatrician of the child must be visited. In this condition, details of the symptoms are recorded after which ECG is done.
Child cardiologists are experts who treat heart issues for both congenital and acquired ones. The advancement of technologies has enabled physicians to detect heart issues faster. Children must be monitored carefully for addressing symptoms and conditions of heart issues.
Murmuring of Heart
If sounds like lub- dub are witnessed from the heartbeats, then it can be considered as a symptom of cardiac issues. The sound is very profound when blood flows are faster. The heart murmur is sounds are soft when the blood flow occurs normally, although if they are profound then intervention is needed. Also, the sound of irregular blood flow might result in structural issues which require analysis from the expert of a cardiologist. Doctors perform ECG for checking the rhythm of the heartbeats after which structural abnormalities are observed through an ultrasound
Regular Chest Pains
Also, the child might complain of chest pains. Hence, in the growing years of the child, chest pain occurs due to the stretching of bones and muscles. Although, this symptom might also indicate some serious issues, hence, must not be ignored. A family doctor or general physician must be consulted in case regular chest pain is complained by the child
Treatments for Heart Conditions
Treatment for Aortic coarctation includes removing infected parts or inserting stents into the vessels. Also, doctors might perform balloon valvopathy for opening the valve for improving conditions of aortic valve stenosis. For conditions such as endocarditis, surgery is the preferred treatment option by the doctors.
Also, heart conditions such as pulmonary artery stenosis are treated with surgical and non-surgical options. While angioplasty is the most common treatment adopted by doctors. In addition to this, the treatment for cardiomyopathy involves medicating or performing surgeries on the young patient.
Conclusion
Heart problems from childhood can pose greater impacts on adult life. Hence, it becomes important for observing the symptoms of the child in activities like breathing, playing, and others. Heart issues might arise several conditions which are further treated through surgical or non-surgical methods.