In pediatric cardiology, congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease are diagnosed and treated from newborn to 18 years of age.
Some heart diseases cause visible, noticeable symptoms, so patients can see a doctor quickly. However, in some cases the symptoms are mild and it can take years to discover the disease.
In the case of congenital heart disease, early detection and accurate diagnosis are important because the varying severity of the disease may require immediate intervention. Cardiac malformations often require surgery, and rarely even surgery may not bring a complete cure. In other cases, specialist monitoring, medication and regular follow-up are sufficient.
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
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:
In all cases it is essential to see a pediatric cardiologist as soon as possible.
Acquired heart disease:
Possible symptoms of acquired heart disease:
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.
