Symptoms And How To Detect Babies With Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

JAKARTA - The infant mortality rate in Indonesia is still high, some of which even occur when the baby is still in the first six days. It turns out that one of the causes is a congenital abnormality of the baby, one of which is congenital heart disease (CHD).

The general chairman of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), Piprim Basarah Yanuarso, explained that 7 percent of this congenital disease occurred.

"Babies with critical congenital heart disease are usually born healthy, but in a few hours and days after birth, the baby's condition can worsen and even die," said the Piprim doctor at the Early Detection of Congenital Heart Disease in Newborns, Monday, December 13.

If not treated quickly, the baby could not be helped. Therefore, health workers must provide delivery assistance and provide counseling about CHD which is still rarely realized.

According to Dr. Rizky Adriansyah as the Head of the Cardiology Coordination Work Unit, congenital heart disease does not always have symptoms. However, these symptoms can often be found when the baby is still one month old.

"For example, when he was born he was said to be healthy, then when he was 1 month old, he was tested for his heart and it turned out to be abnormal, even though the child was healthy," said Dr. Rizky.

PJB can be detected as early as possible. IDAI recommends checking oxygen saturation for infants aged 24-48 hours before discharge.

Symptoms of CHD also vary in addition to abnormal beats, difficult weight gain, recurrent pneumonia, shortness of breath. A change in the color of the lips and tongue and the tips of the fingers turning blue can also be a symptom of CHD.

Regular checkups are highly recommended for newborns with professional health workers.