Congenital heart defects

Introduction: Congenital heart defects

Heart defects or problems that are already present when the baby is born. Congenital heart defects may be so mild that they may not become apparent for years or it may be immediately life threatening. Heart defects occur during the early part of the pregnancy when the heart is being formed and the defect may impair various parts of the heart or the functioning of the heart.

Symptoms of Congenital heart defects

• Cyanosis
• Blue skin
• Blue lips
• Breathing difficulty
• Poor growth

See full list of 6 symptoms of Congenital heart defects

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Congenital heart defects:

• High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
  • Home Blood Pressure Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Monitors
  • Home Heart Tests
• Heart Health: Home Testing:
  • Heart Rate Monitors
  • Irregular Heartbeat Detection
  • Heart Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Home Cholesterol Tests
• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Tests
  • Home Flu Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Congenital heart defects

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Congenital heart defects

• Stethoscope
• ECG
• Chest x-rays

Read more about tests for Congenital heart defects

Wrongly Diagnosed with Congenital heart defects?

• Misdiagnosis of Congenital heart defects
• Failure to diagnose Congenital heart defects
• Underlying causes of Congenital heart defects (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Congenital heart defects

Misdiagnosis and Congenital heart defects

Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even...read more »

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have...read more »

Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid heartbeat....read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See ...read more »

Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children. Some of the symptoms of hypertension that can be...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Congenital heart defects

Causes of Congenital heart defects

• Maternal infection during pregnancy:
  • Gestational diabetes
  • SLE
  • Rubella
  • Certain drugs during pregnancy

See full list of 5 causes of Congenital heart defects

More information about causes of Congenital heart defects:

• Underlying causes of Congenital heart defects
• Congenital heart defects as a complication caused by other conditions
• Congenital heart defects as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Congenital heart defects

Treatments for Congenital heart defects

• Heart surgery - in some cases quickly; in other cases delayed for years to improve outcome.

Read more about treatments for Congenital heart defects

Videos for Congenital heart defects

Patient Surveys for Congenital heart defects

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Congenital heart defects
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Prognosis for Congenital heart defects

More about prognosis of Congenital heart defects

Reseach about Congenital heart defects

Visit our research pages for current research about Congenital heart defects treatments.

Clinical Trials for Congenital heart defects

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Congenital heart defects include:

• Nesiritide Use Following Cardiac Surgery in Infants - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - nesiritide
• Study of Triostat in Infants During Heart Surgery - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Liothyronine sodium/triiodothyronine
• Physical Activity in Fontan Patients - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Genetic and Nutritional Causes of Heart Birth Defects - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Right Ventricular Failure in Congenital Heart Defects - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)

See full list of 97 Clinical Trials for Congenital heart defects

Statistics for Congenital heart defects

• Medical statistics for Congenital heart defects
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Congenital heart defects
• Death and Mortality statistics for Congenital heart defects
• Society statistics for Congenital heart defects

Types of Congenital heart defects

• Blue baby
• Patent ductus arteriosus

Read more about Types of Congenital heart defects

Stories from Users Related to Congenital heart defects

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