Explore various options for Childcare

The outlook for a child with a hole in the heart is very good, irrespective of whether it is remedied by surgical intervention or non-surgical intervention. Explore the options for the child in your care.

 The commonest of the birth defects observed in infants and newborns are largely related to the heart. The incidence of congenital pediatric cardiac abnormality is almost one in every 100 pregnancies. The diagnosis may be made during pregnancy or sometimes after the birth of the baby. The diagnosis of heart defects in a newborn or pediatric cardiac abnormality or pediatric cardiac ailment usually involves a pediatrician hearing a heart murmur. A heart murmur happens to be an abnormal heart sound. A cardiologist comes into the picture for confirmation – he will perform an echocardiogram to confirm whether the heart murmur is from an abnormality or whether it is just an innocent murmur. An abnormality noted thus is often a condition of the heart, which on occasions also warrants surgical intervention.


Cardiac defects in newborns and infants are mainly of two types -
One of them is the case where the newborn or the baby turns blue and the case where the baby does not turn blue. Almost all conditions in which the baby turns blue require surgical intervention. The other may be treated by balloon angioplasty or device closure. Both these methods are nonsurgical. The more common defect is a ‘hole in the heart’.

Pure And Impure Run Ins

The case presenting as a ‘hole in the heart’ may be a ventricular defect or an atrial defect. The isolated hole is found between the chambers carrying red and blue blood (pure or oxygenated blood and impure or deoxygenated blood respectively). The condition arising from an isolated hole in the heart should not be confused with conditions where a hole is present in association with many other abnormalities of the heart. The outlook for a child with a hole in the heart is very good, irrespective of whether it is remedied by surgical intervention or non-surgical intervention; non-surgical remedy is generally done through stenting or angioplasty as in adults.

A hole in the heart results in extra blood flow to the lungs. The affected child is susceptible to chest infections and has difficulty in gaining weight; the child’s parents and guardians will encounter problems when feeding the child.

ApolloLife guide you to know further on the heart care condition in kids.