How to Keep a Child's Heart Healthy With Congenital Heart Disease
Five practical tips for child heart health when a little one has congenital heart disease: nutrition, treatment, exercise, sleep and dental care.
A child's heart health deserves attention, both for healthy children and for those born with a heart defect. Parents of a child with congenital heart disease need to be especially careful and take extra steps to protect their health. Here are a few tips for keeping a little one with a congenital heart condition healthy.
Tips for Keeping a Child With Congenital Heart Disease Healthy
- Make Sure Nutrition Is Enough
Children with congenital cardiovascular disease are usually underweight. The cause is a poor appetite, which affects their health. Too little nutrition makes the little one sick and tired more often. For that reason, parents must set up a healthy eating pattern.
For children aged 1 to 2 years, you should still give breast milk, adjusted to the doctor's advice. If the baby is healthy, breast milk should be given at least 8 to 12 times a day. A child in this condition should also avoid foods high in fat, sugar, or salt, and it is best to skip processed foods too.
Read also: Learning About the Echocardiography Procedure
- Follow the Recommended Treatment
Besides keeping your child well nourished, you must also stick to the treatment the specialist recommends. Treatment does more than treat the condition; it also prevents serious complications. Care for a child's heart health can include medication, catheterization, and even a transplant. Parents need to take the little one in for treatment on a regular basis.
- Encourage Your Child to Stay Active
A congenital heart condition does not mean a child cannot exercise. On the contrary, children should still exercise and stay active to strengthen their muscles and keep their bodies healthy. The only catch is that you need to choose the exercise carefully. There are exercises designed for people with heart disease, and the aim is to avoid exhaustion or shortness of breath.
- Make Sure They Get Enough Sleep
You also need to make sure your little one gets enough sleep. Enough sleep is a good step toward keeping the whole body healthy, because sleep gives the body time to rest so it can work again the next day. If your child has trouble sleeping, it is best to consult a doctor.
- Keep Their Teeth Clean
Looking after teeth and gums is also a way to protect a child's heart. A cavity can lead to infection and spread bacteria, and those bacteria can cause endocarditis, a disease that can damage the heart valves. So your little one should brush often and have a dental check-up at least every 6 months.
Those are some of the ways to keep a child healthy despite congenital heart disease. Other steps worth considering are vaccination, keeping stress down, and helping your child understand their own heart condition. That way you can keep your little one fit and their health stable.
You can consult a cardiologist with a sub-specialty in pediatric interventional cardiology, such as Dr. Radityo Prakoso, who now practices at Heartology. He is a cardiologist in the field of children's heart disease and congenital heart disease.
Book an appointment with Dr. Radityo Prakoso here.
