NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Theme : Health
Paper : GS - 2
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), acknowledged to be the most common congenital disorder, is responsible for 28% of all congenital birth defects, and accounts for 6%-10 % of all the infant deaths in India.
Congenital heart disease is a general term for a range of birth defects that affect the normal way the heart works. CHD is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is classed as a cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The term "congenital" means the condition is present from birth. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common types of birth defect.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
- About the Congenital Heart Disease
- What is Pediatric Cardiac Care?
- Problems in treating CHD
- How to deal with CHD?
1. Pediatric Cardiac-Care service lacking in India.
Context :
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), acknowledged to be the most common congenital disorder, is responsible for 28% of all congenital birth defects, and accounts for 6%-10 % of all the infant deaths in India.
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) :
- Congenital heart disease is a general term for a range of birth defects that affect the normal way the heart works. CHD is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is classed as a cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- The term "congenital" means the condition is present from birth. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common types of birth defect.
About the Congenital Heart Disease :
- Timely medical intervention can save 75% of these children and give them normal lives. The lack of a national policy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in children keeps a huge number outside the ambit of treatment.
- According to the Pediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI), the prevalence of congenital cardiac anomalies is one in every 100 live births; or an estimated 2 lakh children are born with CHD every year. Only 15,000 of them receive treatment.
- At least 30% of infants who have complex defects require surgical intervention to survive their first birthday but only 2,500 operations can be performed each year. A case in point is the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where infants are waitlisted till 2026 for cardiac surgery.
- A 2018 article by the Department of Cardiothoracic Cardiology, AIIMS, states, “pediatric cardiology is not a priority area in the face of competing demands for the resources”.
What is Pediatric Cardiac Care?
- Pediatric cardiologists diagnose, treat, and manage heart problems in children, including. “Congenital heart disease” (heart differences children are born with), such as holes between chambers of the heart, valve problems, and abnormal blood vessels
Problems in treating CHD :
- Doctor population ratio: For 600 districts with a 1.4 billion population, there are only 250 pediatric cardiologists available. The doctor to patient ratio is an abysmal one for half-a-crore population.
- Poverty: Poverty is another barrier before treatment. Transporting sick neonates from States with little or no cardiac care facilities to faraway centres for accurate diagnosis and treatment burdens parents financially.
- Medical devices: In addition, there is the non-availability of crucial equipment that is essential for diagnosis of heart diseases in the unborn. Accentuating the problem is the general lack of awareness about early symptoms of CHD among parents.
How to deal with CHD?
- Timely treatment: Pediatricians say timely medical intervention can save 75% of these children and give them normal lives.
- National policy: The lack of a national policy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in children keeps a huge number outside the ambit of treatment.
- Echocardiography: The Child Heart Foundation, a non-governmental organization working in Siliguri (WestBengal), Jalandhar (Punjab) and Delhi, with underprivileged children with CHD, has been flagging the need for fetal echocardiography.
- Hridayam: There are programmes worth emulating such as Kerala’s ‘Hridayam (for little hearts)’,aimed at early detection, management and support to children with CHD or the Tamilnadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme offering free specialized surgeries.
- Ayushman Bharat: The National Health Protection Scheme (Ayushman Bharat), is expected to financially assist 10 crore poor families but has still to take off. So far, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have apparently got going.