Genetic conditions
Down's syndrome
is the most widely-known genetic condition that can cause congenital heart disease. Children with Down's syndrome are born with a range of disabilities as the result of a genetic abnormality. About half of all children with Down's syndrome have congenital heart disease.
What causes congenital heart defects?
- Rubella (German measles). …
- Diabetes. …
- Medications. …
- Drinking alcohol during pregnancy. …
- Smoking. …
- Family history and genetics.
What is the most common cause of congenital heart disease?
Genetic conditions
Down's syndrome
is the most widely-known genetic condition that can cause congenital heart disease. Children with Down's syndrome are born with a range of disabilities as the result of a genetic abnormality. About half of all children with Down's syndrome have congenital heart disease.
What is the best way to prevent congenital heart disease?
Avoid drinking alcohol or taking medication.
Take 400 micrograms of folic acid supplement a day during the first trimester (first 12 weeks)
of your pregnancy – this lowers your risk of giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease, as well as several other types of birth defect.
Can you develop congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart defects
may produce symptoms at birth, during childhood and sometimes not until adulthood
. 800,000 adults in the United States have grown into adulthood with congenital heart disease. This number increases by about 20,000 each year. Adult congenital heart disease is not uncommon.
Is congenital heart disease curable?
False.
There is no cure for CHD
. Many people have surgeries to repair their heart, however, they are not cured. There may be long-term effects of heart surgery, such as abnormal heartbeats.
How long can you live with congenital heart disease?
About 75% of babies born with a critical CHD are expected to survive
to one year of age
. About 69% of babies born with critical CHDs are expected to survive to 18 years of age.
Can stress cause congenital heart defects?
MONDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) — Stress in mothers before and during pregnancy may boost the risk of congenital heart defects in their children, more new evidence suggests. But the findings aren't
conclusive
, and the effect — if it exists — appears to be small.
Is congenital heart disease a disability?
Under guidelines set forth by the Social Security Administration (SSA), Symptomatic Congenital Heart Disease
may qualify a person to receive Social Security Disability benefits
.
What age group is affected by congenital heart defects?
Approximately 2.4 million people were estimated to be living with a CHD in the United States in 2010. About 1 million of those were children
under the age of 18 years
and about 1.4 million were adults age 18 years and older. About 12% (289,000 people) were estimated to have a severe CHD.
What are the 4 stages of congestive heart failure?
There are four stages of heart failure –
stage A, B, C and D
– which range from high risk of developing heart failure to advanced heart failure.
Is Congenital Heart Disease terminal?
“Congenital heart defect” is another term for congenital heart disease. It means the heart developed with some kind of flaw or weakness. The condition can be
fatal
. Congenital heart problems are the most common kind of birth defect.
How is congenital heart disease diagnosed?
- Electrocardiogram (ECG). …
- Chest X-ray. …
- Pulse oximetry. …
- Echocardiogram. …
- Transesophageal echocardiogram. …
- Cardiac CT scan and MRI .
What age is congenital heart disease diagnosed?
Congenital heart disease may initially be suspected during a routine ultrasound scan of the baby in the womb. Specialist ultrasound, called foetal echocardiography, will then be carried out at
around 18 to 22 weeks of the pregnancy
to try to confirm the exact diagnosis.
Can congenital heart disease show up later in life?
Some congenital heart defects cause no signs or symptoms. For some people,
signs or symptoms occur later in life
. And symptoms can return years after you've had treatment for a heart defect.
What are the two types of congenital heart disease?
CHD can describe a number of different problems affecting the heart. It is the most common type of birth defect. CHD causes more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defects. CHD is often divided into two types:
cyanotic (blue skin color caused by a lack of oxygen) and non-cyanotic.
