A lot of people are born with defects in their hearts. As a matter of fact, these patients don’t even realize the effect that this problem will have for the rest of their lives. The funny part is that some adults don’t even know that they were born with a heart defect.
Most people dismiss congenital heart defects as something that they will eventually grow out of as they grow older or something that is solved after the surgery that they get operated on when they are born.
Congenital heart defects appear due to no apparent reason or cause. What people fail to realize is that these heart defects tag along with them as adults.
- Surgery is not a cure
A lot of people as children would have undergone surgery to solve the problem of a congenital heart problem. After surgery, most people thing that the story ends there.
What most people don’t know is that once you are born with a congenital heart defect, you have to undergo continuous monitoring and treatment for the heart. People who had the surgery often suffer from heart problems later in life. The risk of heart related hospitalization is more here and it’s better to accept the fact rather than suffer from complications that you cannot get cured of.
- You are not exempt from other serious illnesses
Just because you are suffering from congenital heart problems, doesn’t mean you will not suffer from any other serious illnesses.
Your body is susceptible to other diseases such as cancer, diabetes and any other disease other people can contract.
- You need to exercise
In the past, the people suffering from congenital heart problems were restricted from too much physical activity. But what doctors nowadays recommend is that even people suffering from congenital heart problems should be physically fit so as to prevent other complications.
- Alcohol and other stimulants increase risks
People with congenital heart disease need to know that drinking alcohol increases their heart complications and clubbed with tobacco and drugs it can almost be fatal.
Alcohol can cause increased heart rate and even arrhythmia.
- You may need a pacemaker
People who are born with congenital heart disease are at higher risk of developing arrhythmia and abnormal heart rate or rhythm. Affixing a pacemaker in your heart can keep your heart pumping in the right rhythm and prevent complications.
- Heart imaging tests look different
It is important to show your heart issues to a doctor who is specialized in treating congenital heart patients. Regular doctors will not be able to spot the difference in the heart image of a regular patient from that of one with a congenital heart defect.
So show your heart to a specialized doctor who can spot the signs of congenital heart defects and find out all the missing vessels and other problems like holes etc…
- You need to see a specialized doctor
If you are born with a congenital heart defect then you need to consult a congenital heart specialist. A doctor with more hands on experience on congenital defects is more likely to understand your heart better and spot any irregularities in your heart.
Born with congenital heart defects, you do need specialized heart care even as you grow older.
- More adults are living with congenital heart defects than children
A lot of people find out that they are suffering from congenital heart defects only when they really the stage of fully grown adults.
The diagnosis of congenital heart defects is often left to be discovered in the stage of adulthood.
- All congenital heart problems are not the same
All congenital defects are not the same. The symptoms and conditions vary from person to person. For example some people might have a problem with the structuring of the muscle in the heart, while others might have a hole or a pumping problem in the ventricle.
Each case of congenital heart defect is unique and should be treated accordingly. You cannot just dish out the same treatment to all the patients with congenital heart defects.
Get specialized care if you have been born with a heart defect from birth and don’t trivialize these heart issues later in life. Once a heart patient, always a heart patient!
Written by: Rasha Ashraf