Listed here are a few of the very common diseases affecting the heart.
Congenital Heart Disease
Congenital heart problems are those present at birth. They include defects in the valves and chambers and also circulatory problems. About eight out of every 1,000 infants are born with one or more cardiac or circulatory problems, and about half these cases are serious enough to require treatment.
Causes of Congenital Heart Disease
The exact cause of a congenital heart defect is not known. Although genetic factors seem to play a part, families should be aware that medical researchers cannot predict most cases. Therefore, there’s no point in trying to pin down genetic “Blame” or determine which side of the family “Caused” the problem.
In addition to genetic factors, certain environmental and behavioral factors have been identified as interfering with the development of the fetus’s heart during the first 10 weeks of gestation. Some conditions that alert a physician to the possibility of congenital heart disease in an infant include:
- Congenital heart disease in the mother or father.
- Congenital heart disease in a previous child or other relative.
- Diabetes in the mother.
- Rubella (German measles), Toxoplasmosis (a protozoal infection transmitted via cat feces) or HIV infection in the mother.
- The mother’s excessive use of alcohol.
- The mother’s use of cocaine or other drugs.
- The mother’s exposure during pregnancy to certain anticonvulsant and dermatological medications.
During development inside the uterus, the growing fetus is fully dependent on the mother’s circulatory system and the placenta for nourishment. The fetus is also dependent on the placenta as its source of oxygen and its means of removing carbon dioxide.
The fetus doesn’t use its own lungs until birth, so its circulatory pathway is different from that of a newborn infant. Before birth, the heart doesn’t have to pump blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. So, instead of having a separate left pulmonary artery and aorta, in the fetal heart, these two blood vessels are connected via a blood vessel called the Ductus Arteriosus. In addition, there is an opening between the right and left atria in the fetal heart, called the Foramen Ovale, which allows blood to circulate more directly from the right atrium to the left atrium during fetal development. The ductus arteriosus and the opening between the two atria exist as parts of the circulatory system before birth, but that system changes after birth.
These temporary routes naturally close up shortly after birth, when the baby’s lungs and cardiovascular system take over. And because the fetal heart has a circulatory system different from the one the baby uses after birth, some heart defects become apparent days or weeks after birth that weren’t spotted earlier.
Types of Congenital Heart Disease
The most common Congenital heart defects are
- Abnormalities that impede the flow of blood through the vessels.
- Heart valves that are malformed, missing, or block the flow of blood.
- Problems with the structure of the heart that allow blood to flow from one side to the other outside the normal circulatory path.
- Problems with the connections between the main arteries or veins and the heart.
- Septal defects (atrial and ventricular).
- Common atrioventricular canal defect.
- Patent ductus arteriosus (pulmonary or aortic).
- Ebstein’s anomaly.
- Co–arctation of the aorta.
- Tetralogy of Fallot.
- Transposition of the great arteries.
- Persistent truncus arteriosus (tricuspid and pulmonary).
- Total anamolous pulmonary venous connection.
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Although hypertension, or high blood pressure, is not considered a congenital heart disease, it sometimes has a hereditary link. For that reason, children born in families with a history of high blood pressure need to have their blood pressure monitored with special care.
Very high levels of LDL (“Bad”) cholesterol also sometimes run in families: One inherited condition that affects 1 to 2% of children is familial hypercholesterolemia. Very high levels of LDL cholesterol may contribute to atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Therefore, children with familial hypercholesterolemia need to have their cholesterol levels tested before they’re 5 years old, and regularly thereafter. Treatment for high cholesterol may involve the child’s getting more exercise and eating foods with low levels of fat and cholesterol. Medication to lower cholesterol levels may be prescribed for children whose LDL cholesterol after 1 year of diet therapy remains greater than 190 mg/dL. (5.0 mmol/L), or for children over 10 who have additional risk factors for heart disease and whose I.DL cholesterol remains greater than 160 mg/dL (4.1 mmol/L).
