Heart Disease in Children Flashcards
How does a patent ductus arteriousis sound on auscultation
Continuous machine like murmur
Best heard at 2nd intercostal space, left sternal edge
Large shunts may have a more mid diastolic mitral valve murmur
What is the most common heart murmur picked up at the newborn baby check
Innocent flow murmur is most common
Which condition leads to weak or absent femoral pulses in children
Coarctation of the aorta
How does a VSD sound on auscultation
Pansystolic murmur
Heard loudest at left lower sternal edge
How does an ASD sound on auscultation
A fixed split second heart sound is typically heard
Can also have a systolic ejection murmur
Some children with congenital cardiac lesions will not have an audible murmur in the 1st few days of life, why is that
Foetal circulation has high pulmonary vascular pressure so right heart pressure is high = right to left shunt
At birth they inflate their lungs and there is a fall in pulmonary vascular resistance. The pressures in the right side of the heart slowly fall over the next few days to weeks
In this period the pressures equalise and so movement across a VSD is limited and may be hard to hear
How does heart failure present in babies
Increased work of breathing
Poor feeding and poor weight gain
Hepatomegaly
Which type of heart condition can lead to heart failure in babies
Seen in left to right shunts as blood returns to pulmonary circulation and causes oedmea
Which type of heart condition can lead to cyanosis in babies
Cyanosis is seen in right to left shunting as blood bypasses the lungs so less oxygenation
Which type of VSDs do not need treatment
Small VSDs may not need surgery if not haemodynamically significant
Some close on their own
How do you treat a significant VSD
Medicate with diuretics to reduce CHF if present
This is to give them time to grow for surgery
If this doesn’t work, a band can be applied around the pulmonary artery which reduces the blood flow to the lungs to improve symptoms.
This gives the patient a chance to grow and surgery to correct the defect can be performed at a later date
Surgical closure of a VSD is required if medical management is not enough to control symptoms and allow adequate weight gain
What causes Eisenmenger Syndrome
Chronic pulmonary overcirculation in the setting of a large left to right shunt.
The muscles in pulmonary vessels change/grow to adapt to this overcircualtion and increases resistance
This increases right heart pressure until it becomes higher than the left and the shunt reverses from right to left
Has a poor prognosis
How does Eisenmenger Syndrome present
Leads to cyanosis and poor exercise tolerance
Has a poor prognosis
Congenital Heart Disease is associated with which trisomies
Trisomy 21 – VSD and AVSD
Trisomy 18 (Edwards) – VSD, DORV
T13 (Patau) – VSD, DORV
Which heart defects are common seen in those with Turner’s syndrome
Coarctation of the aorta
Which heart defects are common seen in those with DiGeorge syndrome
Truncus Arteriosus
Interrupted Aortic Arch
Tetralogy of Fallot
VSD
In children the vast majority of heart disease is congenital - true or false
True
In adults it is mostly acquired
List some risk factors for congenital heart disease
Maternal diabetes
Prematurity
Other anomalies or a syndrome
Family history of Congenital Heart Disease
List symptoms of cardiac disease in babies
Breathlessness
Difficulty feeding or poor weight gain
Sweating with feeding
Cyanosis
Where would you find the apex beat in children
Apex can be in 4th ICS and more medial in children
Should be in normal place by age 8
What is perioral blueness
It is a blue area around the mouth, upper lip and nose
It is normal in a baby
Can be confused with central cyanosis although the rest of the baby will be pink - check tongue and mouth to be sure
What is acrocyanosis
Blue hands and feet
Common in young babies - not a sign of cardiac disease
Intermittent central cyanosis can be a feature of which condition
Tetralogy of Fallot
Will have a murmur as well
Most cyanotic heart disease makes children blue all the time - true or false
True
How do you grade a heart murmur
1 – slightest possible, often missed 2- slight 3- moderate murmur, no thrill 4- loud with thrill 5 – very loud with thrill 6 – can hear away from chest
How does the infants age at the time of murmur detection help diagnosis
Within 24 hours the risk of CHD is 1 in 10
This is because your circulation is changing so murmurs in are very common
When 3-6 months old the risk of CHD is 1 in 4
By twelve months the risk is 1 in 50
This is because murmurs are even more common around 1 year but not due to CHD, innocent murmur
List the features of an innocent murmur
Usually soft and short systolic murmurs
Tend to come and go, vary with position and be more noticeable at times of increased cardiac output e.g. Tachycardia/fever
Some kids will get them when they are unwell due to the tach and temp
Are never diastolic
Are never associated with a thrill and should not be pansystolic
Are not associated with cardiac symptoms - asymptomatic
Often loudest at the Left sternal edge
New murmur and a temperature in an child is diagnostic of endocarditis - true or false
False
In children it is much more likely to be an innocent murmur
These often become more noticeable when a child is unwell
It is diagnostic of endocarditis in adults however
Describe how foetal circulation changes to adult
Babies have right to left shunts to bypass the lungs – via the foramen ovale
In womb, the right side does more work – pressure is higher
Once born, the left side needs to take over as peripheral vascular pressure increases
Right pressure falls as the pulmonary pressure drops - due to baby breathing
The pressure increase in the left shuts the foramen ovale
Which congenital heart defects are considered acyantoic
VSD ASD Pulmonary stenosis AVSD PDA Aortic stenosis Coarctation of the aorta
Which congenital heart defects are considered cyanotic
Tetralogy of Fallot
Transposition of the great arteries
What is a systemic duct dependent lesion
A heart defect which causes severe obstruction of blood out of the left side of the heart
This means the systemic circulation is dependent on a patent ductus arteriosus
List examples of systemic duct dependent lesions
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Critical Aortic Stenosis
Interrupted Aortic Arch (or severe coarctation)
How do you manage a systemic duct dependent lesion
Give prostaglandins to keep the duct open until palliative or curative procedure is performed
What is a cyanotic duct dependent lesion
When there is obstruction to pulmonary blood flow OR lack of oxygenation of systemic blood
Patient is reliant on the PDA to maintain oxygenation
List examples of a cyanotic duct dependent lesion
Transposition of the great arteries
Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Septum
How do you manage a cyanotic duct-dependent lesion
Aim is to keep Duct open until adequate mixing is secured – atrial septostomy
Which defects are seen in tetralogy of fallot
Right ventricle outflow tract obstruction
Right ventricular hypertrophy
VSD
Overriding aorta - sits above the VSD
Result of anterior malalignment of aorticopulmonary system
What is transposition of the great arteries
The aorta and pulmonary artery are the wrong way around
Aorta arises from right ventricle meaning unoxygenated blood is delivered to the body
Pulmonary artery arises from the left ventricle so well oxygenated blood is delivered back to the lungs
What is the most common congenital heart defect
VSD
What are the 4 main types of ASD
Ostium secundum defect
Ostium primum defect
Sinus venosus defect
Coronary sinus defect
What is an ASD
Atrial septal defect
A more common type of congenital heart disease that allows communication between the atria.
During embryonic development when does the atria split into two chambers
Around week 4-5 division begins
Goes from a common chamber to 2 distinct ones