Rather more than half of the babies born with heart disease will need
some form of investigation within their first year. Only a few of them will
need an operation at this time but more will need an
during childhood.
operation at some time
If a baby is very blue, or becomes very breathless so that its growth
rate is slow an operation will be needed early in life. It may also be wise to
undertake it as a small baby if it is known that the particular problem is
likely to make the baby worse in a short period of time.
Some babies manage well when given medicines so that one can wait
until they are much bigger and perform any necessary operation before
school age. Indeed, some babies with a simple “hole-in-the-heart” will get
progressively better and not need an operation at all.
A few children will need more than one operation to get their
circulation completely right, and the last operation may be delayed until they
are quite big to allow parts of the heart and big blood vessels to grow..
It is now possible to treat some babies and children with narrow valves
without operation by blowing up a special balloon put in position under
X-ray control.
As it is most unlikely that sudden serious illness due to their hearts will
occur in these children, parents should not worry themselves by looking for
signs of the child’s condition getting worse. The most that usually occurs is
a gradual slowing up, with an increasing difficulty in getting about. If this
occurs, advice from a heart specialist should be obtained.