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There is no known way to prevent congenital heart defects, but there are things you can do to lower the chance that your baby will have a congenital heart defect. However, even after you lower the risks, your baby may still develop a congenital heart defect.
Congenital heart disease is heart disease in the newborn, and includes congenital heart defects, congenital arrythmias, and cardiomyopathies. Congenital heart disease, which is also referred to as CHD, is a defect of the heart that exists primarily at birth. CHD can describe a wide variety of different abnormalities affecting the heart. CHD occurs when the [...]
Patent ductus arteriosus
The opening of a passageway or temporary blood vessel to carry blood away from the heart to the aorta before birth. This allows blood to go around the lungs which are not yet used. The ductus should close suddenly in the first few hours or days after birth. When it does not close [...]
The most common signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects are:
A heart murmur
A bluish tint to skin, lips, and fingernails (”blue baby”)
Fast breathing
Shortness of breath
Doctors usually diagnose congenital heart defects during pregnancy or within the first few months after birth. Some children with less severe defects are not diagnosed until they are older and more demands are put on their hearts. Others are not diagnosed until they are adults.
Doctors treat congenital heart defects with:
1. Medicines
2. Special procedures using catheters
3. Surgery
4. Heart transplants
Congestive heart failure (CHF), also called congestive cardiac failure (CCF) or just heart failure, is a condition that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body. It is not to be confused with “cessation [...]
The most common signs and symptoms are:
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Feeling tired
Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, and sometimes the abdomen
Heart failure is caused by other diseases or conditions that damage or overwork the heart muscle. Over time, the heart muscle weakens and is not able to pump blood as well as it should.
There is not a specific test to determine if you have heart failure. A clinical diagnosis of heart failure is usually made when symptoms appear. The symptoms—shortness of breath, tiredness, and fluid buildup—are common in other conditions.
Heart failure can happen to anyone, but it’s more common in:
People 65 years of age and older
African Americans
The goals of treatment are to:
1. Treat the underlying cause of your heart failure
2. Improve your symptoms and quality of life
3. Stop your heart failure from getting worse
4. Prolong your life span
Making changes in your lifestyle is a proven method for reducing your risk of developing heart disease. While there are no guarantees that a heart-healthy lifestyle will keep heart disease away, these changes will certainly improve your health in other ways, such as improving your physical and emotional well being. Also, because some risk factors [...]
Heart is the most significant organ of the body. It controls and regulates the entire body. An individual can survive the loss of other organs of body but not of a heart. The moment heart ceases pumping blood to the body, it results in a heart stroke and there are chances that the person may [...]
If you think you are at risk of developing coronary heart disease, the first thing you should do is schedule regular heart checkups. And you should do this even if you have not begun to experience any of the traditional heart disease symptoms, because it is not unheard of for a
