Pediatric Cardiology

Most heart problems in children are congenital. In more severe cases, heart problems can often be detected immediately after birth, causing a life-threatening condition in the newborn that requires immediate surgical intervention.
Common symptoms of congenital heart disease

• the baby tires quickly during feeding and breathes heavily
• high respiratory rate even at rest
• the baby’s weight gain stops abruptly and sometimes starts to decline;
• frequent yellowing and paleness of the skin

Less serious congenital heart defects often first appear at a few weeks or months of age and may not be noticed by parents, but the abnormalities are detected by the pediatrician at screening:

• a heart rate that is too low or too high
• heart murmur
• irregular heartbeat,
• high blood pressure, possibly a difference in blood pressure between the limbs

In all cases it is essential to see a pediatric cardiologist as soon as possible.

Acquired heart disease:

• inflammatory diseases
• myocardial diseases
• heart rhythm disorders

Possible symptoms of acquired heart disease:

• loss of appetite
• feeding difficulties
• fatigue, stagnation or loss of weight in the infant,
• heart murmur
• rapid breathing or
• too slow a pulse
• oedema

The appearance of a bluish-grey colour on the lips and nail beds of the child indicates a serious problem.

Symptoms of childhood hypertension are mainly headache, visual disturbance.

Fetal echocardiogram

Ultrasound of the fetal heart, a test specifically designed to detect abnormalities in heart development, can be used to detect almost all serious cardiac developmental diseases. The fetal heart sound develops around the 5th or 6th week of pregnancy and is not detectable at first, but can be heard from the second trimester onwards.

The fetal heart is constantly developing, so screening for cardiac abnormalities during pregnancy is of paramount importance. Fetal cardiac malformations affect nearly 1% of newborns.

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