Although today we all think of Valentine's Day, February 14 is not only Valentine's Day, it is also Valentine's Day. Congenital Heart Disease.
The heart is one of the first organs to start working in our body. During the first three weeks of embryo development, the structures that will give rise to the fetal heart and in the week 4 of pregnancy (week 6 if we count from the first day of the last menstruation) the heart starts to beat to propel blood through a rudimentary circulatory system.
What are they and why do they appear?
Congenital heart disease is a group of diseases caused by alterations in the anatomy of the heart produced by deffects on training during the embryonic period and that can affect any of the four cardiac chambers, the partitions that separate them, the valves or the exit areas. The exact cause it is unknown.
Appear in 8 each 1.000 live newborns and sometimes the diagnosis it is done in a way prenatal. In the ultrasound Performed in the second trimester (around week 20), the fetal heart is studied carefully, looking for abnormalities and in the third ultrasound (around week 32) it is evaluated again. But some of these congenital heart diseases they are not easy to detect in this way and face when the baby has already been born. It is currently known that not all congenital heart disease, exist at the moment to be born. Some manifest days, weeks, months or even years later, and their origin is also congenital, what exists at birth is the tendency or predisposition to later suffer from this heart disease.
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There are some 50 Types of congenital heart disease and range from those that do not have symptoms and do not require specific treatment to those that will need surgery during the first weeks of life.
How to deal with it
Facing the diagnosis of congenital heart disease in a child is an experience that is lived with pain, uncertainty and fear. Possibly the couple feel not only lost, but they surely feel that it is something that only stops them, that they are alone and need to find out more about the disease. One way to feel supported is contact with other parents who have already experienced the situation, through the different associations, they will contribute their experience to face the disease. You will feel the need to share experiences and other families who have already gone through it will understand you perfectly.
The need to know that baby will heal happens to be the most important thing, but you have to understand that No. we can wait for short term, most congenital heart disease takes time to resolve, sometimes with surgery, sometimes with medical treatment. You can request a second opinion, although the really fundamental thing is that trust the medical team that treats you, it is not a question of going crazy paying attention to everything we are told or read.
It is very important cope with the disease, not to resign, but to be able to fight for the future of our child.
The future
Food: the best is the Breastfeeding, but in some cases it will be very expensive for the baby to suckle, you can express the milk and give it in a bottle.
The school: Except in the most serious cases, the child with heart disease go to to school, like everyone else. If at any time you have to be hospitalized it is important that we try to maintain your routine, a good way is to continue with your school activity. You can do it through the hospital classroom or home care.
The sport: Must be to adapt sports activity to the child's situation will depend on the heart disease that he suffers and his general condition. The best thing is that expert make a plan individualized activity.
Teeth hygiene: In all children the dental hygiene is very important, but in children with heart disease it becomes somewhat fundamental, the germs that we usually have in our mouth can pass into our blood and cause endocarditis, a very serious infection in the heart.
Help
All aid in these cases depends on the gravity of heart disease. According to this, a degree of disability which is the one that will give us the right to different aids, extension of maternity leave, reduction of working hours, etc ...
Associations
On the Web giblets Hearts You can find the addresses of all the associations organized by Autonomous Communities, as well as detailed information about the disease and the needs of both children and their families.