There are basically two groups of heart diseases in children – one is congenital heart disease, in which the child is born with a heart defect and the other being acquired, predominantly rheumatic heart disease.
Heart disease in children has a high mortality rate. Without treatment 90% of children with congenital heart disease die in the first year of life and a further 9% die before adolescence. Thus less than 1% of children with untreated congenital heart disease survive into adulthood. Even these children have a very low life expectancy of 30 to 40 years.
Children with heart disease can be severely incapacitated. The main complaints are breathlessness, repeated chest infections, cyanosis(blueness), weight loss and growth retardation. The affected children usually require regular medical check-ups. Severe cases where heart failure ensues may require frequent hospitalisation for control of symptoms. Thus heart disease can interfere with the growth and development of the child, including education and extra-curricular activities. The disability caused by childhood heart disease is all the more poignant because most of these children have normal intelligence, not to mention the fact that less than 1% of them survive into adulthood.
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