What can you expect when you go to see the paediatric cardiologist?
Being told that you or your child
might have a birth defect of the heart can be a very stressful situation.
Remember that often the suspicion of a heart defect might turn out to be wrong
and there might be nothing wrong with your or your child’s heart. Even if there
is a problem with the heart it is minor in the majority of patients and may
require no treatment or only oral medication.
During your visit to the paediatric
cardiologist your child will be weighed and height ed Observations including
heart rate, breathing rate, blood oxygen level (oxygen saturation) will be
carried out by the clinic nurse. The doctor will examine the child’s heart and
then decide if further tests are needed.
The tests that are commonly carried
out include echocardiography (ultrasound scan of the heart), ECG or
electrocardiography (electrical tracing of the heart’s activity), Chest X-ray.
Occasionally the cardiologist may decide that cardiac catheterization
(explained in previous post) is required to further define the problem.
Once tests have been performed the
doctor will be able to explain the problem if there is one or reassure you that
all is well. Sometimes further tests may be required. You may or may not need
medications or other forms of treatment