Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said about 12,500-15,000 newborns suffer from congenital heart disease (CHD) a year. This figure is very large, but sadly it is not matched by surgical facilities or pediatric cardiologists.
This was said by the Minister of Health during the inauguration of the Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) facility at Harapan Kita Hospital Jakarta on 29 December 2022. So, what if children with CHD are not operated on? Of course he could die at any moment.
Consider the following explanation of what is coronary heart disease and is it possible to prevent this disease?
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Is it possible to prevent congenital heart disease?
congenital heart disease (congenital heart disease or CHD) is abnormalities, both in the structure and function of the heart that arise from when the baby is still in the womb. This disorder can occur in the heart wall, heart valves, or blood vessels near the heart.
This ailment causes disruption of blood flow in the baby’s body, for example there is a blockage of blood flow or the blood is flowing in an improper path.
Congenital heart disease cannot be prevented. This is because to date only 20% of the causes of congenital heart disease can be identified. While the other 80% have no known cause.
The fetal heart is blocked at 38 days of gestation after conception. Whereas usually a woman knows she is pregnant faster when the gestational age is five weeks or 30 days. So at that time the formation of the fetal heart was almost complete. So it’s impossible to prevent.
The most likely thing is to detect it in advance. PJ extension can be detected as early as 20 weeks of gestation, using an instrument called fetal echocardiography. Unfortunately not many hospitals have this tool. Even with a regular ultrasound, your doctor can actually estimate the presence of heart abnormalities. This is the importance of having regular ultrasounds during pregnancy.
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Symptoms of congenital heart disease
Congenital heart disease is often diagnosed in infancy or even before birth. Depending on the type, some congenital heart defects are more difficult to detect and are not diagnosed until infancy or even adulthood.
Severe congenital heart disease usually has very pronounced symptoms soon after birth or during the first few months of life. Signs and symptoms may include:
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Pale gray or blue skin color (cyanosis)
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Rapid breathing
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Swelling in the legs, stomach or around the eyes
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Shortness of breath breastfed babymaking it difficult for him to gain weight
Read also: Congenital heart disease can be detected in utero
Lack of doctors and operating structures
What is the fate of children born with CHD? Of the approximately 12,500-15,000 newborns with CHD, only 6,000 can be operated on. “Imagine that from 12,500 to 15,000 only 6,000 could be operated on. Where did the 9,000 go? The fall of natural selection or death,” said the Minister of Health quoted by Antaranews.
This is due to the limitations of qualified equipment for their treatment, so there is no pediatric cardiologist. There are currently no more than 100 pediatric cardiologists, and most of them are located in Jakarta and other major cities. The capacity of the Children’s Heart Hospital, like our hope, is also limited.
The health minister has hoped that Harapan Kita Jakarta Hospital will be able to catheterize 200 newborns in one year. In this way, more children with CHD will be helped and saved.
Even if it can’t be prevented, effort is by no means absent. Prevention can be done long before a woman gets married and decides to become pregnant. For example, not marrying too soon, not marrying someone who is still blood related, and taking care of your health before marriage and pregnancy.
Read also: Moms, beware of congenital heart disease in babies
Source:
Antara news
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