Cyanotic Heart Disease is a cardiac defect present at birth that limits the oxygen amount provided to your body. It is also referred to as CCHD or critical congenital heart disease. For survival, CCHD victims need oxygen therapy or surgery (Ossa Galvis et al.). This paper will explore types of Cyanotic heart disease, its defects, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
Cyanotic heart disease has two abnormalities of the heart structures that are notable during childbirth (Rao). The first one is heart abnormalities associated with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) limits the quantity of oxygen given to the rest of your body. It is referred to as critical congenital heart disease occasionally. A condition known as cyanosis causes the skin of newborns with CCHD to have a bluish tint. Secondly, acyanotic congenital heart disease is characterized by anomalies that do not affect how much oxygen gets to the rest of your body. To work effectively, your body needs a constant oxygen flow (Rao). Your body cannot acquire the oxygen it needs if you have cyanotic heart disease. Heart structural problems might result in severe consequences and even death. The disease affects 8 to 9 per 1,000 live births, with about 25% having CCHD (Rao).
The three kinds of cyanotic heart disease are Left heart obstructive lesions which cause your heart and the rest of your body to receive less blood (systemic blood flow). Conditions specifically include hypoplastic left heart syndrome(HLHS), a case where structures on the left side of your heart are underdeveloped. Your heart’s left side cannot adequately pump blood to the rest of your body because it is too tiny. The other defect is an interrupted aortic arch, where your aorta is incomplete (Ossa Galvis et al.).
The second defect is Right heart obstructive lesions, resulting in reduced blood flow between your heart and the lungs (pulmonary flow). The conditions under this defect are three; Pulmonary atresia is the first condition where the pulmonary valve, which separates the right side of your heart from your lungs, doesn’t develop properly or is occluded. The other situation is tricuspid atresia, where the valve between the atrium and ventricle is improperly constructed, where the blood cannot pass from the right atrium to the right ventricle due to solid tissue bock or deposit (Rao). Tetralogy of Fallot is another complex congenital heart defect with four components: A ventricular septal defect, a sizable hole between the heart’s two ventricles, or pumping chambers. The second is pulmonary stenosis, a constriction in the blood vessel that travels to the lungs or beneath it. Thirdly is the Overriding of the aorta, where the ventricular septal defect is immediately above the aorta. The left ventricle and aorta are usually joined, and oxygenated blood flows from the ventricle into the aorta. Lastly, hypertrophied results in the right ventricle’s thickening (Rao).
The third defect of CCHD is mixing lesions, where your body mixes the contents of the pulmonary and systemic blood flow. It has three conditions which include; the situation where the main pulmonary artery and the aorta, the two major arteries that leave your heart, are inverted when leading to a condition called transposition of the great arteries. This is the second most typical CCHD you have. The second one is Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), a condition in which an infant’s blood does not flow from the lungs to the left side of the heart as it should. Instead, the right side of their heart receives the blood. Lastly is Truncus arteriosus, a condition where just one primary artery supplies blood to both the body and the lungs (Cleveland Clinic).
Cyanotic congenital heart disease causes include abnormalities in chromosomes; genes are also linked to the cause of the disease. Some other causes are related to the mother’s illness with conditions such as diabetes, phenylketonuria (a blood disorder) during pregnancy period (Chang et al.). Through research is also being done to establish the other causes of the disease. In addition, if the expectant mother under drug use or viral infection, the child born may be infected with CCHD. According to (Rose et al.), the symptoms include cyanosis, fast breathing, fast heart rate, pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), low levels of oxygen in the body, slow gain of weight, weak pulse or sweating while feeding among others.
The CCHD can be diagnosed before childbirth where the physician can conduct fetal ultrasound and use the fetal echocardiogram to identify any heart disorder. After childbirth, it can be noticed through pulse oximetry screening, which measures the level of oxygen before the baby is released from the healthcare unit. In addition, the electrical activity of your heart is measured by an electrocardiogram, often known as an EKG or ECG. CCHD can be treated in a number of ways. Oxygen therapy is one way, where higher oxygen levels are delivered than would be found in regular room air. Prostaglandin E1, is another treatment, which can widen the ductus arteriosus and relax smooth heart muscle (a blood vessel). Moreover, surgery can be done to do repair of the defected blood flow and redirect them (Cleveland Clinic).
In conclusion, Cyanotic Heart Disease is a serious heart disease that needs mitigation at early stages of childbirth to save the life of the child born. However, it is also crucial for expectant mothers to observe early diagnosis on the disease for early treatment measures. If well treated, the child has chances of survival while also observing doctor’s precautions.
Works Cited
Chang, Ruey-Kang R., et al. “Missed Diagnosis of Critical Congenital Heart Disease.” Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, vol. 162, no. 10, Oct. 2008, p. 969, https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.162.10.969. Accessed 23 Dec. 2019.
Cleveland Clinic. “Cyanotic Heart Disease (CCHD): Causes, Symptoms and Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, 2023, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22441-cyanotic-heart-disease#:~:text=Cyanotic%20heart%20disease%20is%20any.
Ossa Galvis, Maria M., et al. “Cyanotic Heart Disease.” PubMed, StatPearls Publishing, 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500001/.
Rao, P. Syamasundar. “Management of Congenital Heart Disease: State of the Art—Part II—Cyanotic Heart Defects.” Children, vol. 6, no. 4, Apr. 2019, p. 54, https://doi.org/10.3390/children6040054.
Rose, Shelonitda S., et al. “Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) with Symptomatic Erythrocytosis.” Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 22, no. 12, Oct. 2007, pp. 1775–77, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-007-0356-4.
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