4 Categories of Heart Defects in Infants You Need to Know Before Giving Birth
As new parents, spending weeks in the hospital after giving birth is oftentime unexpected and stressful. One of the leading causes of a baby’s prolonged hospital stay after giving birth is when they are diagnosed with a heart defect. Heart defects in infants are the most common type of birth injury in the United States.
During our team of birth injury attorneys wanted to inform you of four common categories of heart defects in infants.
Critical Congenital Heart Defects
1 in 4 heart defects in infants are classified as critical congenital heart defects (CHDs). Like cyanotic conditions, these must be treated quickly with surgery or other procedures during the first year of your baby’s life. Critical CHDs cause low levels of oxygen, which may be identified with screening tests at least 24 hours after birth.
Common symptoms of critical heart defects in infants include:
- Problems breathing;
- Pounding heart;
- Weak pulse;
- Pale or bluish skin coloring;
- Poor feeding; or
- Extremely sleepy.
Cyanotic Congenital Heart Defects
Cyanotic congenital heart disease is any heart defect present at birth that reduces oxygen delivery throughout your baby’s body. This is one of the most serious types of critical heart defects in infants where babies are born with a bluish tint, also known as cyanosis. There are three types of cyanotic heart defects in infants:
- Left heart obstructive lesions. This type of heart defect reduces blood flow between the heart and the rest of the body. It may specifically cause your baby to have under developed structures on the left side of their heart, decreased heart size or an incomplete aorta.
- Right heart obstructive lesions. This congenital heart defect reduces blood flow between the heart and lungs, causing conditions such as pulmonary atresia, tricuspid atresia or Tetralogy of Fallot. Right heart obstructions commonly lead to holes in the heart, thickening of the ventricles, poor valve formation or blocked valves.
- Mixing lesions. Causing the body to mix pulmonary and systemic blood flow, this heart defect leads to artery transposition, or the reversal of arteries in the body, blood moves through the wrong side of the heart, or only one artery is developed enough to carry blood to the body and lungs.
Common cyanotic congenital heart defects include Tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of great arteries, atresias, total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), truncus arteriosus and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. All of these conditions must be treated promptly with surgery in the first year of life to allow for healthy heart function down the road.
Ductal-Dependent Heart Defects
When babies are born, they have a small hole in their heart called a ductus arteriosus that usually closes on its own during the first few days following birth. However, if it does not close, their blood may miss a necessary step of blood circulation where the blood must receive oxygen from the lungs. This condition is commonly called a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) that will force your baby’s heart and lungs to work harder, leading to an increased risk of severe heart damage.
Acyanotic Congenital Heart Disease
Acyanotic congenital heart disease refers to less dangerous heart defects that require little to no surgery. Additionally, they may heal on their own with limited intervention from a pediatric cardiologist and/or your baby’s pediatrician.
Attorneys for Newborn Heart Defects
Heart defects in infants are serious conditions that must be treated promptly by your doctor or your baby’s pediatrician following birth. A delayed or improper diagnosis may lead to devastating consequences that change your family’s life forever.
If you believe your baby’s heart defect was not treated properly, our birth injury attorneys may be able to help hold medical personnel accountable for their injuries. Contact our team today to set up a free consultation.