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What is congenital heart disease (CHD) and how is it diagnosed? What is the treatment for CHD?
Jan 7, 2013

Dr. Ivana Dabaj Pediatric Neurology
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a defect of the heart and the great vessels present since birth. They can be diagnosed in utero (before the baby is born on the fetal ultrasound) , at birth or shortly after. First you have the clinical signs: weight loss or failure to gain weight, cyanosis where the baby become blue (but in some cases no cyanosis), difficulty in breathing,... Sometimes there are no symptoms but your physician can hear abnormal sounds on cardiac auscultation. In case of suspicion a cardiac ultrasound should be done. The treatment depend on the type of CHD and it should be decided by the pediatric cardiologist.
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