Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 29 Aug 2024
U-19 Cricket Team Captain Yash Dhull Recovers After Surgery; What Is Congenital Heart Disease He Was Diagnosed With?
CHD creates an issue with your heart’s structure keeping blood from flowing normally
India’s under-19 cricket team captain Yash Dhull recently underwent a minor heart surgery after a hole was detected in his heart, his coach said. Dhull - the top-order batter from Delhi is now recovering well after the procedure was conducted last month when routine scans revealed this congenital heart disease.
“It was not a major surgery. It took him about 10 to 15 days to recover. He is not 100 percent at the moment in terms of his game and fitness, I would say he is about 80 percent but good enough,” Dhull’s coach Rajesh Nagar told reporters.
Nagar said even though a hole in the heart is usually a birth defect surprisingly in Dhull’s case, it was only detected after the examination. “It was a small hole and has been there since birth, but it was detected now. He will be back to his best very soon,” he added.
What is congenital heart disease?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, congenital heart disease or CHD is an issue with your heart’s structure that is present at birth. These issues, which keep blood from flowing normally, include the blood flowing slowly or in the wrong direction and creating problems with your heart valves affecting proper functioning.
Doctors say usually heart defects are diagnosed either before or shortly after birth, but in a few rare cases, detection is not given until childhood, adolescence, or even adulthood.
What causes CHD?
CHD usually happens when the heart of a fetus does not develop properly in the uterus. Even though scientists do not completely understand why that happens, they believe it may be due to:
- Having abnormal chromosomes or genetics that come from parents
- Mothers drinking alcohol, smoking, or breathing in secondhand smoke during pregnancy
- Women taking medications for high blood pressure or cholesterol during pregnancy
- Having an illness like uncontrolled diabetes or some type of viral infection during pregnancy
Signs and symptoms of congenital heart disease
The symptoms of congenital heart disease start as soon as a baby is born or may not appear until later in life. A few of these include:
- Cyanosis
- Excessive sleepiness
- Fast breathing or breathlessness
- Fatigue
- Heart murmur
- Poor blood circulation
- Weak pulse or pounding heartbeat
How is a congenital heart disease diagnosed?
According to experts, most of the time doctors find the congenital condition before a baby is born through scans. If they find anything unusual during a routine prenatal ultrasound, the fetus would need further testing. For example, a fetal echocardiogram uses harmless sound waves to create pictures of the fetal heart.
Also, doctors can detect other heart issues soon after a baby is born. For example, they can diagnose cyanotic CHD with pulse oximetry. The simple, painless test uses sensors on your baby’s fingers or toes to find out the oxygen levels. However, like in Dhull’s case, rarely you may not get a congenital heart defect diagnosis until later in life.
Ways to treat CHD
Congenital heart disease treatment usually involves:
- A catheter procedure to place a plug into a defect
- Medicines that help keep your heart working more properly and efficiently or manage blood pressure
- A non-surgical procedure that helps fix issues using a closing device
- Oxygen therapy – which provides higher levels of oxygen than normal room air would
- Prostaglandin E1 - relaxes smooth heart muscle and can keep open the blood vessel that normally closes after birth, helping provide needed circulation
- A minor or major surgery to repair the issue.
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