Symptoms which indicate your child might have a heart problem

1. Symptoms which indicate your child might have a heart problem Heart disease​ can affect us at any age, but it can be especially tragic when it  does occur in children. But it is important form us to know that there are  certain heart conditions with which children can be born, also called  congenital heart disease. These heart conditions, most of the time go  unnoticed because the symptoms that they cause do not become very obvious  until later on in life when the child is a little older and becomes more active.  But if the condition is very severe, symptoms may manifest early in childhood,  and this is the reason doctors do a complete physical examination of the  newborn, including listening to the heart with the stethoscope, which will help  them to detect these abnormalities as early as just after birth. Therefore this  increased awareness that the so called ‘’heart diseases’’ which people assumed  affected only adults, can be present in children as well, is very important,  because it is only the parent who spend the entire day with their babies, who  can tell these subtle changes and abnormalities which need to be further  investigated.  Most of the time with ​cardiac diseases ​the commonest mistake which people  make is that they assume the symptoms of thedisease to be natural reaction of  the child and dismiss it easily. Therefore not a lot of attention is paid to it, until  the symptoms become so bad and the condition has almost reached a point of  fatality. People fail to relate these symptoms with that of a cardiac challenge,  of a child who is having a difficult time keeping up the demand of increasing  activity. This is why we need to educate the parents of the possibility that their  child might be affected with a heart condition, and that they have to be  observant in order to detect the symptoms as early as possible, so that prompt  medical attention can be given.  The ​symptoms of heart diseases​ will vary depending on the child’s age.  Because the symptoms in babies who are less active, will be different to those 

2. in older children who are more active. So let’s take a look at the possible  symptoms depending on the age of children:  Neonates and infants  This age group includes babies up until their first year of life. In this age group  it becomes very important that we pay close attention to the physical  differences because they can be missed very easily. These include unusual  drowsiness in the baby, where you might notice that you baby is even refusing  feeds because of this increased drowsiness. Or you might notice that your baby  is sweating unusually or your baby’s skin is turning blue when he/she gets  tired or when they have to exert themselves such as when they breastfeeding  and suckling or when they crying. You also might notice that your baby is  having a hard time breathing and it might look to you like you baby is  breathing very rapidly. Other than this, the only symptom of heart disease  might be that you baby fails to thrive and does not have the required weight  gain and growth pattern. And this can be very easily ignored. All of these  indicate that there is a possible underlying heart disease, and you should think  about having your baby checked by a doctor immediately.  Toddlers  This is the age group when your child starts to walk and explore everything  around them. Again if they are not performing activities as any other child in  the same age group, then this should get you worried as to why your child  cannot keep up. If you observe that you child starts to tire easily or gets  breathless after taking a few steps, or starts to sweat excessively when  involved in some activity, this again should cause some concern. If their lips or  tongue goes blue while they are exerting themselves or if they have fainting  spells as well as uncoordinated jerky movements, then again it might indicate  towards an underlying heart condition. This age group is where you have to 

3. always compare your child with other children and if they are able to keep up  with the rest and perform in a similar manner.  Older children and teenagers  Again the symptoms experienced by older children are very similar with easy  fatigability and breathlessness, as well as fainting attacks. But the difference is  that these children are able to communicate changes that they feel better than  younger kids, and they may sometimes come and tell you that they can feel  their heart beating very fast and loud. Again the most important thing to do  when they do complain of such symptoms is to pay attention to this without  dismissing them easily.  When it comes to congenital heart disease, there might be conditions which to  not need any treatment at all and will resolve on their own. But there might be  more fatal conditions which need prompt attention, and the correct  intervention at the right time might mean the difference between the complete  reversal of the condition or your child having to live with the condition  lifelong.  And if your child is indeed diagnosed with such a heart condition, then you  need to make sure that your child, their teachers at school as well as their  caretakers are made aware of the warning signs of the condition, so that the  necessary prompt action can be taken, to bring the condition under control and  prevent greater damage from happening.  Tags - ​Heart disease​,​Heart Surgery​, ​Best Heart Surgeon In India​, ​Heart surgeon in  delhi/ncr​, ​best cardiac surgeon in world