New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) With a whopping 200,000 cases per year, congenital heart disease remains a significant concern in India, said health experts on Saturday.
Congenital heart defects (CHDs) can be defined as cardiac anomalies present since birth and cover a wide spectrum from small defects.
“The prevalence of congenital heart disease is about 9/1000, which is approximately 200,000 per year. However, it is difficult to know the exact incidence rate due to a lot of disparity in the availability of facilities in rural areas in India,” Dr Mayur Jain, Consultant – Cardiothoracic Surgeon & Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon, P. D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC, Mahim, told IANS.
Dr Swati Garekar, Senior Consultant-Paediatric Cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Mulund noted that the number of babies with congenital heart defects (CHD) appears to be rising.
“A big reason for this is that we are able to pick up more cases that were earlier undetected: Doctors are now more aware of how babies with CHD present to them in the OPD. They masquerade commonly as failure to gain weight or as repeated cough/cold/pneumonia episodes,” she told IANS.
Atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) are the common types of CHDs.
Newborns typically show symptoms such as rapid breathing, poor feeding, poor weight gain, bluish discolouration of skin, and recurrent chest infections. On the other hand, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, inadequate growth as per age, bluish discoloration of nails and lips, and recurrent chest infections may be common representations of CHD in older children.
Dr Swati noted that the reasons for CHD are multifactorial.
It includes “the state of mother’s nutrition, vaccine status (like German measles), exposure to pollutants in her food, water, air, skin, medicines in the first two months of pregnancy”.
Dr Mayur recommended maternal vaccination against rubella and flu, and abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy.
He also advised daily folic acid supplements during the first trimester (first 12 weeks) of pregnancy to lower the “risk of giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease and other birth defects”.
The doctor also advised women to keep diabetes under control and to avoid exposure to organic solvents, such as those used in dry cleaning, paint thinners, and nail polish remover during pregnancy.
–IANS
rvt/uk
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.