What are the heart problems in premature babies?

Many pregnant women do not take good care of the fetus during pregnancy, or do something harmful to the fetus, which leads to abnormalities in the fetus. They will give birth early, but they do not know that giving birth early will cause great harm to the fetus. If the baby is born early, it will also affect the development of the fetus, leading to congenital deficiencies and even heart problems. So what are the heart problems of premature babies?

1. Heart failure: Neonatal heart failure is considered an emergency, and most of the time it is caused by severe heart defects in the child. Its clinical manifestations are due to congestion of the pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation and reduced cardiac output. The children are pale, short of breath, have difficulty breathing and tachycardia. The heart rate can reach 160-190 beats per minute and the blood pressure is often low. You can hear the rhythm of galloping horses. The liver is enlarged, but peripheral edema is less common.

2. Cyanosis: It is caused by the mixing of arterial and venous blood due to right-to-left shunting. It is most obvious on the tip of the nose, lips, and nail beds.

3. Squatting: Children with cyanotic congenital heart disease, especially those with tetralogy of Fallot, often show squatting signs after activities. This can increase systemic vascular resistance and thus reduce the right-to-left shunt caused by the septal defect, while also increasing venous blood return to the right heart, thereby improving pulmonary blood flow.

4. Pulmonary hypertension: When patients with septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus develop severe syndromes such as pulmonary hypertension and cyanosis, it is called Eisenmenger's syndrome. The clinical manifestations are cyanosis, polycythemia, clubbing of fingers (toes), and signs of right heart failure such as distended jugular veins, hepatomegaly, and edema of surrounding tissues. At this time, the patient has lost the opportunity for surgery and the only thing waiting is heart and lung transplantation. Most patients die before the age of 40.

5. Clubbing of fingers (toes): Cyanotic congenital heart disease is almost always accompanied by clubbing of fingers (toes) and polycythemia. The mechanism of clubbing: chronic hypoxia at the extremities, metabolic disorders, and toxic injuries. The ends of fingers or toes grow, thicken, and become clubbed.

6. Developmental disorders: Children with congenital heart disease often develop abnormally, with symptoms such as being thin, malnourished, and delayed in development.

7. Others: chest pain, syncope, sudden death. Some children have symptoms related to systemic circulation, such as abnormal sweat output. (usually manifested as a significantly higher amount than normal for people of the same age)

If premature babies are caused by congenital deficiencies, they will have many heart diseases, including heart wear and tear, or arrhythmia, which are very common heart diseases. Children may also develop rheumatic heart disease. These heart diseases occur suddenly and have a great impact on children, so children should be examined in time after birth.