Is neonatal arrhythmia serious?

Arrhythmia is a very common disease in life. Most patients with arrhythmia are congenital. Congenital arrhythmia may be caused by the genetic factors of the parents or by the lack of certain elements during the growth and development process. For the arrhythmia of newborns, it should be treated from an early age, otherwise it is likely to cause myocardial infarction in the future. So is the arrhythmia of newborns serious?

When infants have arrhythmia, the condition can be serious or minor. The serious case is "viral myocarditis", or "conduction-myocardial dysfunction" and electrolyte imbalance caused by congenital heart development deficiencies, etc., which may also be life-threatening. So, when it comes to babies’ illnesses, basically, we’d rather “consider it as serious” than “assume it’s nothing serious.” Because once a problem is missed, later treatment may not necessarily be effective, so the important thing is to discover it as early as possible.

An irregular heartbeat is a heartbeat that is either too fast or too slow, outside the normal range. Due to their physiological characteristics, some infants may have irregular heartbeats from time to time, but under normal circumstances, it is sporadic rather than frequent. If it is frequent, myocardial problems should be considered. Therefore, it is recommended to do some comprehensive examinations, including: myocardial enzyme spectrum, myocardial color ultrasound, electrolytes, arterial or venous blood oxygen partial pressure, etc. If the examination results show no other abnormalities, then you can rest assured. If there are abnormalities, the key is to discover and deal with them as soon as possible. In short, if the baby has arrhythmia, it is recommended to cooperate with the examination to find out the cause. For infant heart disease, early detection and early treatment are the key.

Arrhythmia in children is mostly a normal physiological phenomenon. The congenital development of newborns is still incomplete, and some activities such as exercise will inevitably cause irregular breathing symptoms. It is not serious. As long as you pay attention to avoiding strenuous exercise and emotional fluctuations, and give your baby more acquired supplements, normal breathing can be restored.

Neonatal arrhythmias[1] can occur in utero or after birth. Intrauterine arrhythmias are called fetal arrhythmias. Postnatal arrhythmias have many causes, the most common of which are as follows:

(1) Various organic heart diseases such as congenital heart disease, viral myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, etc.

(2) Various neonatal infectious diseases such as neonatal pneumonia, sepsis, upper respiratory tract infection, intestinal infection, etc.

(3) Neonatal asphyxia and hypoxia are common causes of arrhythmias. Other perinatal factors (i.e. abnormalities of the mother and fetus before and after delivery), such as medication by the pregnant mother before and during delivery, umbilical cord around the fetal neck, cephalopelvic disproportion, and intrauterine distress, can all cause arrhythmias.

(4) Water and electrolyte imbalance such as hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, hypocalcemia, acidosis, and certain drugs such as digitalis.

(5) Neonatal cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery

(6) Healthy newborns may experience arrhythmias, which may be related to the immaturity of their conduction system.