Congenital Condition Of Congenital Heart Defects

Syndrome. Approximately half of all infants born with Down’s syndrome have a heart defect. Many of these defects have serious implications”

For both Atrial and Ventricular septal defect the size of the opening or hole affects how severe the child’s

Critical Congenital Heart Defects are abnormalities of the heart structure that are present at birth. These occur because of incomplete or abnormal development of the fetus’ heart. These defects can cause severe mortality within the newborn stage (Goldstein, 2013, p.1). Several are known to be linked to genetic disorders such as Down syndrome and others are thought to be linked to environmental factors that women can be exposed to while pregnant. The cause of most CCHD’s is unknown.

Congenital heart disease in newborns is a very common birth defect and effects roughly 1 in 100 or 1% of the babies born in the United States. Some of the heart defects that are a part of congenital heart defects include, hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), pulmonary atresia (PA), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPV/TAPVR), tricuspid atresia and many more.

Congenital heart disease- refers to a misshapen heart muscle as a result of a birth defect, changing the way in which the blood flows from the heart to and through the lungs and body

HLHS first described in 1952 by Lev as the pathologic complex hypoplasia of the aortic tract. Hypoplasia of the aortic tract including hypoplasia of the aorta, hypoplasia of the aorta and VSD, hypoplasia of the aorta with aortic stenosis or atresia, and hypoplasia of the aorta with or without mitral stenosis. In 1958, Noonan and Nadas termed these lesions as “Hypoplastic left heart syndrome”. Noonan describes HLHS as a spectrum of cardiac abnormalities characterized by marked hypoplasia of the left ventricle and ascending aorta. The embryologic cause is not fully understood. It probably results from a familial inheritance and genetic disorder. Most infants are diagnosed in the first few hours or days of life.

Fetal echocardiography is indicated in high risk pregnancies where the chances of fetus having a congenital heart disease (CHD) are likely to be high - for exapmle, in a fetus with extracardiac anomalies picked up on obstetric ultrasound, those with a history of CHD in family, maternal diabetes and maternal connective tissue disorder (Srinivasan,2000). Congenital heart defects are abnormalities in the heart's structure that are present at birth. They are the most common congenital malformations with a reported incidence of 8 to 10 per 1000 live births, and about a third of these CHDs are severe (fatal or requiring an intervention in the first year of life) (Dolk and Loane, 2009; Hoffman and Kaplan, 2002; Vaartjes et al., 2007) . CHDs happen because of incomplete or abnormal development of the fetus' heart during the very early weeks of pregnancy.

A little girl by the name of Jaelyn was born with congenital heart disease (CHD). Jaelyn’s parents learned about her condition called Ebstein’s Anomaly during a fetal echocardiogram when her mother was only 30 weeks pregnant. The doctors and nurses at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital monitored Jaelyn in-utero to watch for hydrops (heart failure) and other indications her heart disease was affecting her growth. Jaelyn went into heart failure just five weeks later when her mother was only 35 weeks pregnant. She was given a 5% chance of survival due to the severity of her defect. The family was also told Jaelyn would not survive past her first birthday; she turns five in March. When Jaelyn was born, her entire family was afraid she wouldn’t survive the delivery, but thankfully, Jaelyn’s story is a true miracle. When the doctors see Jaelyn during routine checkups and physician visits, they can’t believe she has Ebstein’s Anomaly because for how far she has come and how healthy she looks. Sadly, not every child with congenital heart disease gets the miracle Jaelyn has been given. Congenital heart disease has many causes that impact the child and

Congenital Heart Defect’s (CHD) affect about 1% of all births in the United States or about 40,000 babies per year (www.CDC.gov). Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a CHD that accounts for an estimated 10% of these births. There are many factors that are involved in the diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for these children. The effects of the CHD vary in severity, therefore the effects it has on a child’s life vary. The etiology of TOF, how specific organs, cells, and tissues are affected, and what organ systems are affected will all be discussed and explained. . The effects vary greatly between patients this paper will focus on the average effects of this condition in order to provide a better understanding of TOF.

Congenital left ventricular outpouching (LVO) is an uncommon perinatal diagnosis. Various terms used in the medical literature to describe the LVO are a source of perplexity. The novel classification developed in a recent review by Rad et al attempting to provide a clear differentiation of the mixed definitions based on anatomical and cardiac imaging data. Our report presents a case series of prenatal diagnosis of LVO. The application of Rad et al original classification and its impact on the patients’ outcome are discussed.

Congenital defects of the atrial septum are common, accounting for approximately 13 percent of congenital heart disorders, with a reported birth prevalence of approximately 2 per 1000 live births. Every child is born with an opening between the upper heart chambers. It's a normal fetal opening that allows blood to detour away from the lungs before birth. After birth, the opening

Congenital disorders with intellectual disability (ID) constitute a particularly significant medical problem because of the high prevalence and life-long care that patients will need. The extreme genetic heterogeneity of ID is a major problem for pre- and postnatal diagnosis. In some cases, however, early detection of a mutation may be important to prevent the manifestation of the handicap (Avbelj et al. 2007). Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most frequent causes of preventable ID, which can be averted by administering thyroid hormone in early postnatal life. This is achieved by newborn screening detection.

Proper embryological development of the heart is crucial to proper functioning of the heart as an adult. The developing heart of a fetus follows several steps to ensure that the heart that develops has two way flow from atrium to ventricles to pulmonary or systemic circulation. While the steps in heart development are normally well controlled in a developing fetus, defects can arise and cause substantial problems postnatally. Specifically, when the embryological origin of the portioning between the left and right atria fails to develop normally, atrial septal defects can arise. Fortunately, there are surgicial options to prevent this defect and prevent interatrial mixing of oxygenated blood from the left atria with deoxygenated blood in the

An extremely rare congenital birth disorder, Ectopia Cordis affects about five to seven per one million live births, but if usually extremely deadly. This disorder is most common in females. Due to chromosomal abnormalities, the heart, regularly enclosed within the rib cage, is instead located outside the body in the abdominal cavity or near the neck. The lateral body walls fail to fuse together which creates an opening in the chest. Medically, there are four classifications of Ectopia Cordis. Although often appearing in the thoracic area, cervical, abdominal, and thoracic-abdominal cases are possible. The structure of the fetus’s chest cavity begins to be deformed near the eighth day of embryonic life. Around the tenth or eleventh week of

Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are the most prevalent of all birth defects and the leading cause of death in the first year of life, (1) with an annual prevalence ranging from six to twelve affected infants per 1,000 live births. (2)