Is there a future for children with heart defects?

Answer 1

Sonia - Wow, you ask a very good question. However, the spectrum of "heart defects" is very broad and can range from defects where children rarely survive beyond infancy to defects where people can live full, productive lives.

The broad answer to your question is "yes". In the 1950s, less than 25% of infants born with complex heart defects would survive beyond their first year of life. Now, over 95% of such infants survive into adulthood. In fact, the number of ADULTS with congenital heart defects has now surpassed the number of children with the disease. By some estimates, 800,000 American adults are now living with congenital heart defects, and 20,000 new patients reach adolescence every year!

Unfortunately, not all of these people are living completely normal lives. Many go on to develop heart failure or heart rhythm problems. Many require more surgeries as new problems arise. The study that Loving_Heart mentions is very old (from 1985) and therefore does not include kids with more severe forms of heart disease who were not considered operable at that time.

If you are wondering about a specific child with a heart defect, the best thing to do is to speak to the cardiologist who can tell you the SPECIFICS of your child's heart defect. Really, you could almost say that no two heart defects are exactly the same. Only a cardiologist who is familiar with all of a child's medical problems can give you a reasonable assessment of their long-term outcome. Hope that helps!

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I was born w/ 3 heart defects ( Hole in my heart) / leaky valve/ Bigemeny (PVC every other beat) you would never know I have a disability. I live a normal active life. I'm married w/ 2 kids. Active sex life, active work life, active outdoors kind of guy. I do anything and everything I choose to do or are made to do by my wife..hehehe .... The only difference is i take 7 Pills in the AM and 3 more in the PM. 10 Pills a day keeps me normal if there is such a thing. With all the advancements in medicine anything is almost possible. At 28 (5yrs ago) My doc implanted a defib/pacemaker and yes I'm on my second battery which has been a huge blessing in my life. It has reduced my pill intake by half and not near as critical I take them in a timely fashion. The difference between myself and others is I made the choice to not allow my disability to alter my life greater than it already has. I qualify for every kind of government program but I made the decision to go to college and get a masters, Work, Marry, raise family, PLAY HARD...golf,mud bogging, boating, restore classic cars, Camping, hiking, biking, fishing etc.... and leave the government and there money out of my life. Some defects can hinder/alter ones life. I have 3 cardo problems that Doctors said would hinder mine but by the grace of God and self determination I have chosen to make the most out of my life. God has blessed my life and he will bless others if they humble themselves and ask!! I hope this sypnopsis of my life anwsers your question YES THERE IS LIFE FOR KIDS W/ CARDO DEFECTS!!

Answer 4

Surely ! Please dont give a HOPE ! There are many type of heart defects ! In very few they remain disabled but many of this is surgically treatable ! There are many organization helping through out for the surgical repair !will will find a way ! I have seen many such children who became giant people in their field inspite of their heart defect ! one of my friend was having fallots tetralogy in which there are four defects were there in heart ! He himself is doctor and after passing is doctory he underwent surgery for his defect is fine since than!Always YouRsmE

Answer 5

Although with advent of pace makers & high tec. the prognosis is very good and current advancement in rehablitation technique the hope of leading a normal life are very good. This research article will help you out:
Physical fitness was assessed in children with congenital heart disease using seven tests designed to measure cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility and co-ordination. Test scores for age-matched healthy children were significantly higher than preoperative scores for patients. Postoperatively, the patients were divided into a control group and a physical training group. The training group was subsequently divided into compliant and non-compliant subgroups. Patients who complied with a simple six-week home program of physical activity training after surgery improved their test scores significantly (p less than .001) and were not significantly different from normal children. The scores of the non-compliant group remained below normal (p less than .01). When retested six months postop, the scores of all patient groups had improved; however, while there was no significant difference between the healthy and compliant groups, the scores of the non-compliant and control groups remained significantly below those of the healthy children (p less than .01).

ALL THE BEST.