Congenital Heart Disease: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
أمراض القلب الخلقية
Congenital heart disease describes structural differences in the heart or blood vessels present from birth, ranging from simple to complex. Not every defect needs surgery, but some require early intervention and long-term follow-up.
What is Congenital Heart Disease?
Examples include holes between chambers, narrowed valves or vessels, and abnormal arterial connections. Detection may occur before birth or later. Repair does not always end the need for follow-up, even when the person feels well.
Related reading: When should I see a cardiologist?.
Symptoms
Signs may include blue discolouration, rapid breathing, tiring or sweating with feeds and poor weight gain. Older children or adults may develop limited exercise tolerance or palpitations. Small defects may cause no symptoms and be found incidentally.
Causes
Defects arise during fetal heart development, often without an identifiable cause. Genetic or chromosomal changes and maternal health or exposures may contribute. Parents should not be blamed, and not every defect is inherited.
Risk factors
An affected relative, certain genetic syndromes and some maternal illnesses increase risk without making a defect inevitable. After diagnosis, future risk depends on anatomy, previous procedures and cardiac function rather than age alone.
Diagnosis
Prenatal ultrasound can identify some defects. Newborn examination and oxygen screening detect important cases but do not exclude every defect. Echocardiography defines structure and function; ECG, further imaging or catheterization is selected when appropriate.
Treatment
Some simple defects are observed and may improve or close, while others need medicines, catheter procedures or surgery. Anatomy, circulation and symptoms determine timing. Appropriate specialist congenital-heart follow-up continues during transition from childhood to adult care.
Complications
Depending on anatomy, complications may include arrhythmias, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and valve or vessel problems after repair. Some children need developmental or learning support. Risks vary greatly; one complication list does not apply to everyone.
Prevention
Not all defects are preventable. Preconception care, chronic-disease control, medication and vaccine review, and avoiding smoking and alcohol can reduce some risks. Family history or a previous affected pregnancy may warrant genetic counselling and planned pregnancy surveillance.
When to see a doctor
Seek urgent care for new blue discolouration, severe breathing difficulty or fainting, or an infant too breathless to feed. Poor growth or declining exercise tolerance needs review. Contact the cardiac team before pregnancy or for symptoms after previous repair.