We spoke to Dr. Supratim Sen, Senior Consultant (Pediatric Cardiology) at SRCC Children’s Hospital, which is managed by Narayana Health, and Ms. Roshan Kore, Sr. Dietician (Pediatric Nutrition and Dietetics), SRCC Children’s Hospital, Narayan for understanding Managed by Health. Incidence and symptoms of cardiovascular diseases in children.
“Unfortunately, even today, we see children who were diagnosed with a hole in the heart in childhood and advised early surgery, and the parents did not bring the child for surgery because of their belief If the heart disease will resolve on its own or that the child is too young for heart surgery, and with this delay, the child develops late complications such as pulmonary hypertension and may even become inactive.
Should children be screened for heart diseases?
Not all children need regular cardiac tests. Children should have regular health checkups with their pediatrician, and if the pediatrician suspects heart disease in the child, they are referred to the pediatrician. The pediatrician will then assess the child in detail and perform an echocardiogram to diagnose the heart defect and initiate treatment.
The most common heart defects in children are congenital heart defects, which the child is born with. Major congenital heart defects can be detected by fetal echocardiography only during pregnancy. After the baby is born, serious heart defects can be diagnosed and treated within hours of birth.
Also read: Do not ignore these symptoms of heart diseases
What are the signs that a child’s heart health needs attention?
Signs and symptoms such as babies not feeding properly, fatigue while feeding, weight loss and excessive sweating are suggestive of congenital heart disease. Some babies and toddlers will have blue lips, tongue, and fingernails when they cry. Older children may develop recurrent pneumonia, fatigue, and worsening of breathlessness on exertion.
Do you often see children reporting heart problems?
As I am a pediatrician, I regularly see children suffering from heart disease. However, in the general population, only 8-10 babies out of 1000 live births are born with heart disease. So about 1% of all children have congenital heart disease. A small percentage of children have acquired heart conditions such as Kawasaki disease and rheumatic heart disease, and in the past few years, post-COVID MIS-C which affects the heart.
How much exercise should children do daily?
Children should be encouraged to play outdoor games and games and their screen time and TV viewing time should be limited. No minimum or maximum hours or amount of exercise is recommended, but daily 1-2 hours of outdoor activity is helpful in developing and encouraging a healthy lifestyle from early in life. Of course, as a child grows, exercise and outdoor activity will need to be balanced with schoolwork and studies.
Children with heart disease may have restrictions on how much they can and should stress themselves, and this needs to be discussed with their pediatrician.
What is a heart healthy diet? Is there any food that kids should eat every day?
A heart healthy diet is one that prepares a person to fight heart disease. It recommends that a child’s diet contain a variety of foods with foods from different food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins, nuts, legumes and vegetable-based oils. Such a diet helps in maintaining a healthy weight and stable metabolism while providing all the nutrients to meet the daily requirement of the child as per the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients, such as cakes, donuts and sugary beverages, foods high in saturated fat, trans fats and large amounts of sodium, should be consumed in moderation or avoided .
A child with congenital heart disease has a high metabolism which burns calories faster and hence needs to be fed high calorie foods. Frequent caloric and nutrient-rich meals help to meet this increased need. High protein foods like milk or dairy, meat, pulses, sprouts and nuts should be included. It is best for older children to avoid salty, fried, sweet and junk food.
Foods containing omega 3 fatty acids have a protective effect so foods such as fish, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola, soybean and soybean oil, chia seeds and green leafy vegetables should be included in the diet regularly.