Congenital Heart Defects: Medical History and Physical Exam
When determining whether your baby has a
congenital heart defect, the doctor will
ask questions about your baby's medical history and your medical history. And your baby will have a physical exam.1
Medical history
Questions include the following:
- What symptoms does your baby have?
- When are symptoms usually present? Symptoms may be present only
when your baby is eating or crying.
- Has your baby been less active
than usual?
- How is your baby's appetite? How much does your baby
usually eat and drink? Describe a typical feeding. Does he or she have trouble
feeding or tire easily while feeding?
- Has your baby been urinating
less often than usual?
- Does your baby's color change when he or she is crying?
If so, does the color quickly return to normal after crying stops?
- What position does he or she seem most comfortable in when
resting?
- Has your baby ever passed out? If the child is older: Has
your child ever complained of his or her heart beating in a strange way?
- Did you have
or were you exposed to rubella (German measles) or any other infections during
your pregnancy?
- Did you take any medicines, use illegal drugs, or
drink alcohol during your pregnancy?
- Do you have a family history
of congenital heart defects?
Physical exam
The doctor
will:
- Check your child's weight and length.
- Check your child's heart rate and blood pressure.
- Listen to your child's heart and lungs with a stethoscope to
detect whether a
heart murmur is present. A heart murmur can be normal
in children but should be checked by a doctor.
- Check
your child's heart rate (pulses) on the neck, wrist, legs, and feet.
- Check your child's nail beds, lips, and skin for a bluish tint
(cyanosis) and/or
clubbing. Your doctor may also check the
amount of oxygen in your child's blood with an
oximeter.
- Look at the skin over the blood
vessels in the neck to see whether the vessels bulge. This may happen if the
heart is weak (heart failure).
- Look at and feel your
child's belly to check for an enlarged liver. The liver may be enlarged in
children who have heart failure.
Citations
-
Brown DW, Fulton DR (2011). Congenital heart disease in children and adolescents. In V Fuster et al., eds., Hurst's The Heart, 13th ed., pp. 1827–1883. New York: McGraw-Hill.
|
By
|
Healthwise Staff |
|
Primary Medical Reviewer
|
John Pope, MD - Pediatrics |
|
Specialist Medical Reviewer
|
Larry A. Latson, MD - Pediatric Cardiology |
|
Last Revised
|
October 11, 2011 |
Last Revised:
October 11, 2011
Brown DW, Fulton DR (2011). Congenital heart disease in children and adolescents. In V Fuster et al., eds., Hurst's The Heart, 13th ed., pp. 1827–1883. New York: McGraw-Hill.
