Recognizing 7 Warning Symptoms of Congenital Heart Disease In Men: What Happens When You Ignore The Signs?

VERIFIED

Signs of Congenital Heart Disease: Dangerous side effects of ignoring the warning symptoms of heart diseases in men.

Late presentation of congenital heart disease (CHD) is very common in low and middle-income countries due to multiple reasons. "Late" means delayed presentation beyond the appropriate age of intervention or surgical repair as per guidelines. Up to 85% of CHD presents late in low and middle-income countries compared to 8-29% in developed countries. Even 10-15% CHD are first diagnosed in adulthood.

In this article, Dr Kuntal Roy Chowdhuri, Department of Cardiology, CMRI Kolkata, tells us more about how ignoring warning symptoms of CHD can have serious health complications, and what needs to be done to stay safe.

Factors Behind Late Presentation of CHD

Late presentation of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is multifactorial. Financial constraints and lack of awareness are common reasons for late presentations. Other factors such as late diagnosis, ignorance, late referral and fear about cardiac ailments are also contributory.

Consequences of Late Presentation of CHD

Late presentation of different CHD has various untoward consequences and it complicates decision-making, surgical repair or intervention and postoperative recovery. It may even cause irreversible damage in the long term and even death. CHD with left to right shunts (i.e Ventricular Septal Defects, Patent Ductus Arteriosus, Aortopulmonary window) which are also known as 'holes' in the heart are very common. If these holes are not diagnosed and repaired at the proper time, it may cause a severe rise in lung pressure (Pulmonary Hypertension).

Pulmonary hypertension poses a unique challenge during operability assessment, surgical planning, postoperative recovery and long-term outcomes. It is heartbreaking to witness patients having simple CHD develop inoperable pulmonary hypertension and experience premature death even today in India.

On the flip side, children with cyanotic heart disease may suffer from inescapable hazards of polycythemia and hypoxia which include headache, stroke, brain abscess, venous thrombosis and cyanotic cardiomyopathy and nephropathy. Timely correction of cyanotic CHD can offer a better quality of life with proper development of organs. Children with single ventricle physiology are the most delicate subset who demand early intervention to protect their single ventricle candidacy. The late presentation is also attributed to severe malnutrition, repeated chest infection and heart failure which appends clinical and financial morbidities.

Diagnosis & Treatment of CHD

It is absolutely important to emphasize early diagnosis and timely treatment of CHD to avoid deleterious complications of late presentation. A multifaceted approach is crucial which includes awareness of the public and physicians at the community level, financial support for treatment and early diagnosis and referral. Early diagnosis can be achieved by Fetal Echocardiography, pulse oximetry screening and availability of echocardiography. Common symptoms of CHD include bluish discolouration of lips and fingertips, 'suck-rest-suck' cycle, repeated chest infection, failure to thrive, shortness of breath on exertion and palpitation. Parents shouldn't ignore these and should get their children evaluated properly. Treatment of CHD may include intervention with device closure, surgical treatment or medical management.

Effects of Timely Treatment of CHD

In the past few decades, tremendous advancement has taken place in the field of congenital and paediatric cardiac care. As a result, early and late outcomes of all simple and complex heart diseases have improved significantly. If treated timely, simple and complex heart diseases can be surgically corrected with about 2-5% and 10-15% mortality risk, respectively. In many simple and complex CHD may lead an almost normal life if treated timely. Activity restriction after CHD surgery is only required in selected high-risk patients and should not be generalised. Social life including pregnancy is possible in most corrected biventricular CHD patients but demands careful pre-conceptional evaluation. Nevertheless, CHD patients should adhere to follow-up visits as advised by their doctors.

Conclusion

Misconceptions among the public and physicians regarding CHD symptoms, availability of treatment options and short and long-term outcomes need to be addressed aggressively. Timely treatment is the cornerstone of CHD treatment. Everyone should understand that a baby born with some critical CHD [Obstructed Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection] might need intervention or surgery even at a few hours of life.