Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Congenital heart disease history and symptoms
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Patients with congenital heart disease may experience symptom onset during infancy, childhood and even latent symptoms in adulthood. Common symptoms include heart failure, cyanosis, pulmonary hypertension, chest pain, infective endocarditis, tachypnea, tachycardia, and cardiomegaly.
History
History
Maternal History
- Maternal diabetes increase the risk of neonatal congenital heart disease
- Maternal fever with rash
- Smoking in the first trimester
- Ingestion of drugs
- Assisted reproductive therapy
Family History
- History of congenital heart disease in first degree relative increases the risk by three fold
Symptoms
Symptoms
Most defects cause a whispering sound, or murmur, as blood moves through the heart causing some of these symptoms. All of these symptoms occur at a young age of a child or infant and are typically found during a physical examination.
- Chest pain
- Cyanosis
- Decreased urine output
- Dyspnea
- Excessive sweating
- Failure to thrive
- Heart failure
- Heart murmur
- Hemoptysis
- Hypoxic spells
- Impaired growth
- Poor feeding
- Squatting
- Syncope
- Underdeveloped limbs and muscles
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Priyamvada Singh, MBBS [2], Keri Shafer, M.D. [3], Atif Mohammad, M.D.; Kristin Feeney, B.S. [4]; Kalsang Dolma, M.B.B.S.[5]