This is a test which can be done during the second trimester of pregnancy, when the woman is about 18–24 weeks pregnant. It can be an abdominal ultrasound or transvaginal ultrasound.If a baby is born with cyanotic heart disease, the diagnosis is usually made shortly after birth due to the blue colour of their skin (called cyanosis).If a baby is born with a septal defect or an obstruction defect, often their symptoms are only noticeable after several months or sometimes even after many years. Classification
A number of classification systems exist for congenital heart defects. In 2000 the International Congenital Heart Surgery Nomenclature was developed to provide a generic classification system. Hypoplasia
Hypoplasia can affect the heart, typically resulting in the underdevelopment of the right ventricle or the left ventricle. This causes only one side of the heart to be capable of pumping blood to the body and lungs effectively. Hypoplasia of the heart is rare but is the most serious form of CHD. It is called hypoplastic left heart syndrome when it affects the left side of the heart and hypoplastic right heart syndrome when it affects the right side of the heart. In both conditions, the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus (and, when hypoplasia affects the right side of the heart, a patent foramen ovale) is vital to the infants ability to survive until emergency heart surgery can be performed, since without these pathways blood cannot circulate to the body (or lungs, depending on which side of the heart is defective).
Some defects do not need treatment. Others may be effectively treated with catheter based procedures or heart surgery. Occasionally a number of operations may be needed, or a heart transplant may be required. With appropriate treatment, outcomes are generally good, even with complex problems.Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect. In 2015, they were present in 48.9 million people globally. They affect between 4 and 75 per 1,000 live births, depending upon how they are diagnosed. In about 6 to 19 per 1,000 they cause a moderate to severe degree of problems. Congenital heart defects are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths: in 2015, they resulted in 303,300 deaths, down from 366,000 deaths in 1990. Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms are related to type and severity of the heart defect. Symptoms frequently present early in life, but it is possible for some CHDs to go undetected throughout life. Some children have no signs while others may exhibit shortness of breath, cyanosis, fainting, heart murmur, under-development of limbs and muscles, poor feeding or growth, or respiratory infections. Congenital heart defects cause abnormal heart structure resulting in production of certain sounds called heart murmur. These can sometimes be detected by auscultation; however, not all heart murmurs are caused by congenital heart defects.