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‘Heart-Defect' Babies - Better Chances of Survival and Near-Normal Life
“With advances in medical science, babies with heart defects have better chances of survival and a near-normal outlook in life,” said Dr Muneer Amanullah, Assistant Professor and Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon at Aga Khan University (AKU). Children with minor defects, such as a hole in the heart or ‘blue' babies – their lips and nails may have a bluish tinge – the defects are correctable by surgery. Almost all of these babies reach adulthood and enjoy a normal or nearly normal life.
He was speaking at Aga Khan University Hospital's (AKUH) Signs, Symptoms and Care programme in Hyderabad, on the Current State of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in Sindh.
Dr Amanullah did caution that congenital heart disease remains a major cause of medical complications and mortality. In more severe cases, the heart may have only one pumping chamber instead of two and palliative operations would have to be carried out to increase blood flow to the lungs or heart. Explaining open-heart surgery, Dr Amanullah said that it requires the use of a heart and lung machine that temporarily takes over the workload of these vital organs' during surgery. The risk factor in these procedures varies from five to ten per cent and most cases can be scheduled on a routine, non-emergency basis.
AKU's Associate Professor and Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Mehnaz Atiq explained, “Birth defects in the heart are common and over 100,000 babies with heart defects are born in Pakistan each year. Most defects are simple, requiring easy surgeries, some are difficult with increased risks and a few require multi-staged surgeries. Almost 4,000 to 5,000 babies have serious defects requiring urgent treatment.
In a simple hole in the heart case, the baby may suffer from frequent pneumonia or have poor weight gain. Such holes may have to be closed surgically within the first year of life. However, some defects may be corrected without surgery, by means of various devices. Serious defects such as severe coarctation of aorta and transposition of great arteries call for an operation on the newborn. Dr Atiq was happy to report that all these types of surgeries are presently available in Pakistan.
As part of its outreach programme and commitment to creating awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH has organised over 250 Signs, Symptoms and Care programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Nawabshah and the UAE, benefiting more than 40,000 people.
The University Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the cost of their medical treatment. Since its inception in 1986, PKR 2 billion has been disbursed to more than 300,000 needy patients.
For further information, please contact:
Department of Public Affairs
Aga Khan University
Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi-74000.
Fax: 493 4294, 493 2095
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