Children are surprisingly susceptible to circulatory diseases. Thousands of infants are born each year with defects in their cardiovascular or circulatory system. Many other children get diseases of the heart as they age. A completely normal heart pumps blood throughout the body with little incident. A heart that's damaged or otherwise malformed most likely doesn't do so.
Congenital Heart Disease in Infants
According to the American Heart Association, at least 14 percent of children are born with ventricular septal defects. This defect is essentially a hole in the normally solid ventricular septum. In some cases the symptoms may be mild, but in other cases fatigue of the heart, congestion of the lungs and poor weight gain may occur.
Coarctation of the aorta is another common disease associated with the circulatory system. According to the University of Chicago, when the aortic arch narrows, it causes a coarctation. This narrowing forces the left ventricle to pump harder, eventually leading to heart failure.
Other circulatory system diseases in children include atrioventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries and left heart syndrome.
Acquired Heart Disease in Children
Kawasaki disease causes the immune system to attack the body. This includes the blood vessels that supply the heart. This attack can lead to abnormal function and even fluid accumulation. It also may cause the coronary arteries to enlarge and clog, which can lead to heart attacks.
Cardiomyopathy, and specifically dilated cardiomyopathy, causes the heart to dilate and enlarge. This means the heart can't pump blood effectively. According to the University of Chicago, some patients may recover, while two-thirds either stay the same or get worse.
Arrhythmia, cardiomyopathies, rheumatic fever and acquired immune deficiency syndrome with myocarditis also develop in children. A doctor should be able to assist in treating these acquired circulatory diseases.
Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Tachycardia, or fast heart rate, means the heart is beating faster than normal. Sinus tachycardia occurs with a normal impulse generating the heartbeats. Electrical impulses around the atriventricular node cause supraventricular tachycardia, which may beat as fast as 280 beats per minute.
The heart may also slow, such as with sinus bradycardia. This is usually benign. Antrioventricular block is when the impulses generated to make the heart beat are normal, but not every beat reaches the ventricles.
Irregular heart rhythm may be caused by premature atrial contraction, premature ventricle contraction and atrial fibrillation.
