JAKARTA – Child with down syndrome o Down syndrome should be screened for heart examination to detect whether or not there is congenital heart disease.
“About 40-60% of children with down syndrome is accompanied by congenital heart disease, therefore screening is recommended. Then later the pediatrician will first perform a physical exam, if there are other sounds in his heart, “said pediatric cardiologist, Sri Endah Rahayuningsih, quoted by Between, Friday (28/10).
Explain to the children down syndromethere is an excess of chromosome 21 which should be a pair, but it becomes three, so it is often called trisomy 21. The chromosome carries the properties that will become organs ranging from the brain, to the formation of the blood system, to endocrine hormones and the system cardiovascular or cardiac system.
In children down syndrome, excess chromosomes cause interference with organ formation. Therefore, children with Down syndrome are often accompanied by congenital heart disease.
“Because there is a chromosomal disease, the organs that form are automatically disturbed. So, eventually, the heart that forms is often accompanied by abnormalities,” he said.
He said, in congenital heart disease down syndrome there are various types and symptoms, such as frequent shortness of breath, difficulty gaining weight, and frequent blue attacks (the baby’s body appears blue).
“The most common heart defect in Down syndrome is the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), so there can be a leak in the hole between the right atrium and the left atrium, and in the blue type it can also be like Fallot’s tetralogy ( low oxygenation blood gushing from the heart).), “said Endah.
If there is a strong suspicion of congenital heart disease, the doctor will do a chest X-ray, then an electrical examination of the heart with an electrocardiogram (ECG).
“If the suspicion is very high, a pediatric cardiologist will be consulted for echocardiography. As congenital heart disease is detected and treated, God willing, the results will be good,” Endah said.
The congenital heart disease that many children with Down syndrome suffer from often make them unable to obtain a good nutritional supply, so that their nutritional status is below standard and they are susceptible to viral infections from the environment. The best way to prevent children from getting infected is to keep all sources of the virus away.
“Advice if you have this disorder, avoid infection with the people around you, meet the baby and kiss him” No not at all, due to the source of the infection. Love a healthy environment, “said the doctor from Melinda 2 Hospital in Bandung.
