Scientific Analysis for a Baby with a Hole in the Heart.

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When I checked my phone this morning, the very first news I got was that my friend’s daughter had a hole in her heart and the doctor said, she has to go through an urgent operation. The news left me worried and even if I had not spoken to my friend for some time now, I knew she had gone through so much raising this little angel.

My friend broke the news about her pregnancy to her boyfriend and his reaction was that, he was not ready to be a father, she stood her ground about keeping the pregnancy and that was the last time she saw him. All through the period of pregnancy until childbirth, she only had her family and friends to support her. Baby Zara became a year old last month and we were so excited about how well she is growing, the fact that this baby’s smile gives my friend extreme calmness and joy is exciting.

Waking up to this heartbreaking news this morning left me wondering, questions filled my mind as to what the cause of this serious ailment could be. How can a little child have to go through such a serious medical condition, I decided to read up on the topic and of course share it with the community for the sake of enlightenment and suggestions/recommendations from medical experts here.

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istockphoto.com

Let's have a quick look at the structural description of the heart.

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istockphoto.com

The human heart can be found in between the two lungs, resting on the diaphragm. It is divided into four chambers; two ventricles and two atria. Simply explained, the ventricles are the section of chambers that are responsible for the pumping of blood while the atrium is the chambers that are responsible for receiving blood. The biggest artery in the body is the aorta and it is the heart that houses it.

The heart is further divided into the right and left sections, the right heart is made up of the right atrium and ventricle while the left heart is made up of the left atrium and ventricle. The right section of the heart is separated from the left section with the wall of a muscle known as the Septum. The right ventricle functions by pumping blood to the lungs, the blood pumped to the lungs serve the purpose of re-oxygenation through the pulmonary arteries. The right semilunar valve as well closes and further prevents the blood from getting back into the heart. 1

The structures and functions of heart structures.

• Pericardium: The pericardium consists of two layers: The visceral layer which directly covers the outer part of the heart, and the parietal layer which covers the fluid in the pericardial cavity by forming a sac around it.

• Epicardium: This is the outermost part of the heart composed of a thin-layer membrane. The Epicardium aids lubrication and helps to protect the outer part of the heart.

• Myocardium: This contributes to the thickness of the heart and it is basically responsible for pumping.

• Endocardium: This is the innermost layer of the heart, it lines the heart chambers as well as covers the heart valves. The Endocardium also prevents blood from getting stuck to the inner walls, therefore, preventing the occurrence of fatal blood clots.

• Artia: They are thin and less muscular walls, they function as a blood receiving chamber fed by large veins.

• Ventricles: They are responsible for the pumping and pushing out of blood for circulation. The ventricles are usually connected to larger arteries that make it possible for blood to get delivered for circulation.

• Veins are blood vessels that supply deoxygenated blood to the heart which eventually gets drained into the right atrium.

• Capillaries: This organ forms a network from the arteries to the vein.

• Valves: They ensure that the flow of blood is done in a singular direction.
After understanding the mechanism and functions of the

The heart is an organ in the body that functions as a pump that aids blood circulation, distribution of nutrients, and oxygen in the body.

Now that we know how the heart the structured if you are as curious as I am, I am pretty sure you also want to find out what could have gone wrong with a child's heart to make her have a hole. Keep reading while I explore the reason behind the hole in the heart of a child.

What could make a child have a hole in the heart.

Remember I mentioned earlier that the sections of the heart are separated with the wall of a muscle known as the Septum. It is the function of the septum to prevent the mix-up of blood between the two sides of the heart.

The hole in the heart of a child could either be ASD (Atrial septal defect) or VSD(ventricular septal defect)

Atrial Septal Defect: Oxygen-rich blood should normally flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle, in this case however when there is a flow of oxygen-rich blood into the left atrium, the child would suffer the ASD condition.

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istockphoto.com

Complications of ASD are rare in infants but mostly found in adults and some of the possible complications of ASD are:

  • Right heat failure.
  • Stroke.
  • Pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Ventricular Septal Defect: This condition permits the occurrence of a hole in the part of the septum, this way, the oxygen-rich blood that is supposed to flow from the left ventricle into the aorta and out of the body, is made to flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricle, therefore, creating the condition VSD in a patient.

Complications of VSD could result in:

  • Heart failure.
  • Growth failure.
  • Arrhythmias (Irregular heartbeat).

Parents whose children have ASD or VSD as a medical condition need to abstain from blaming themselves because asides from cases of hereditary or some mothers who smoke during pregnancy, there have not been any content discovery to back up the reason behind the condition.

How can we easily identify a child who has a hole in the heart.

With medical conditions like ASD and VSD, it is important to identify the symptoms fast in order to enable fast treatment. Some of the symptoms of this medical condition are:

  • Heart Murmur: When there is an unusual sound from the heart.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • When there is a build-up of fluid in the feet and ankles.
  • When the baby easily gets tired.
  • Poor growth.
  • Difficult feeding.

At what point is surgery required?

The case of my friend's child requires surgery at this point and it left me wondering if there was nothing else that could be done about it. I found out that most doctors first recommend medications when this condition is noticed in children with the hope that the hole closes up by the time the child is a year old, if the hole however does not close up when the child gets to the age of one year, then surgery is required.

Do Kids have restrictions after treatment?

After kids with this condition have been treated, they can live and play like normal children. They experience normal growth and a normal lifestyle just like other children. However, a doctor should be visited to determine the level of physical activity the child is permitted to engage in when the hole closes on its own without surgery.

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[The flier made for baby Zara in order to raise funds, this design can be found on various social media platforms.]

References.

https://byjus.com/biology/human-heart/ [1]

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/atrialseptaldefect.html#:~:text=As%20a%20baby's%20heart%20develops,called%20an%20atrial%20septal%20defect.

Mai CT, Isenburg JL, Canfield MA, et al. for the National Birth Defects Prevention Network. National population-based estimates for major birth defects, 2010-2014. Birth Defects Res 2019; 1– 16. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1589.

https://pedctsurgery.ucsf.edu/conditions--procedures/ventricular-septal-defect.aspx

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, a speaker, relationship counselor, lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people, I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community, do well to keep them coming



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9 comments
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What a heart-breaking news. I hope your friend will manage to find the remaining funds, so that the surgery could happen and the baby be treated. Could the child live normally until the surgery will happen? Is this an emergency or is there time?

PS: When reading this blog, I am feeling again lucky to live in a country where basic healthcare covers such a surgical operation, or at least most of the costs inherent to it.

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Hello @lemouth, thanks for your time. She has to travel this weekend with the baby and the money has been raised to a reasonable amount. We are hopeful that the money will be complete before then since we have come this far already.

While sourcing for the money, I could not help but reminisce over how the government of my country has failed in so many areas especially the health sector.

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I indeed had this discussion a few weeks earlier with @gentleshaid. What your government has done for healthcare (and education I imagine, as these two often go by pairs) is so sad...

Please keep us updated about the outcome of the surgery!

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Merely thinking about the situation of things in this country can make one depressive. I've stopped thinking, I just live one day at a time.

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That's a superb positive attitude to adopt in general, even if relative to the situation in your country that's the only way not to get depressed on a daily basis (as you wrote)...

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(Edited)

That is definitely the best way to go, taking it slowly and keeping it real just a day at a time.

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Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).

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