Thousands of child deaths occur every year. Neglecting children’s health, not being diagnosed and treated early increases the probability of sudden death. Pediatric Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Selami Süleymanoğlu pointed out that heart attack cases can be seen in children as well as adults, and that this may be due to hereditary or acquired diseases, and said that the most important cause of sudden deaths in childhood is heart-related.
40 PERCENT OF DISEASES ARE SYMPTOMS
Stating that one out of 100 thousand children die from heart-related causes every year, Pediatric Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Selami Süleymanoğlu said that only 40 percent of the diseases give symptoms. Süleymanoğlu warned that children under the age of 50 with sudden death, chest pain during exertion, fainting or palpitations should be checked before sports.
COVID INFECTION IS ADDED TO THE RISK FACTORS
Expressing that the heart attacks seen in children will vary according to the age group, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu said, “While children under 2 years of age have structural disorders related to the heart, rhythm disorders, genetic diseases and cardiovascular diseases that occur in children at later ages lead to heart attacks. In recent years, Covid infection has also been added to these risk factors. Not only while having Covid disease, at the same time, heart problems related to Covid can occur within six months after the disease. Heart rhythm disorder, genetic diseases, weakness or thickness of the heart muscle can be detected by cardiological examination. But when it comes to giving symptoms, we can say that there is a bit of bad luck in this regard because children are the most vulnerable. In 40 percent of them, they show symptoms before heart disease occurs,” he said.
prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu listed the points that families should pay attention to when the disease gives symptoms as follows:
“Symptoms can be fainting, chest pain, fatigue, palpitations. These can be ignored or missed. In families with sudden death, children should also be screened genetically by a pediatric cardiologist. A decision can be made with blood pressure measurement, EKG. But it is best done by a pediatric cardiologist. It is an echocardiographic evaluation with a general examination. Since its incidence is very rare, suggesting a routine control will be a bit expensive and difficult to implement. Instead, it is necessary to determine the risk groups and perform an examination on these children. Risk groups are those who lost their family due to heart disease at an early age. , children with a murmur in their heart during the doctor’s examination, those with a rhythm problem noticed on the EKG, those who get tired quickly, and those with complaints such as fainting and chest pain. It shows signs in the near adult period. These diseases are of genetic origin and are not acquired diseases.
SUITABLE SPORTS MUST BE DONE FOR CHILDREN WITH HEART DISEASE
One of the frequently asked questions is ‘My child has a heart disease, is it forbidden to do sports?’ Saying that he has a question, Süleymanoğlu said, “The answer is surprisingly no. There are sports that almost every child, even those with heart disease, can do. In the examination before participation in sports, a detailed and clear decision is made about which child can do which sports.”
YOU SHOULD CONSULT THE DOCTOR BEFORE PLAYING SPORTS
Advice to families to make their children do sports, Prof. Dr. Süleymanoğlu also listed the things to be considered before sports with the following words:
“There are some issues that families should pay attention to before directing their children to sports. If there is a sudden loss in the family before the age of 50, if there are complaints such as fatigue, chest pain, fainting, it is useful to be examined before participating in sports. Physical examination, questioning the medical history, and a small amount of diseases. Therefore, it is recommended to be evaluated by a pediatric cardiologist with echocardiography, EKG and, if necessary, exercise tests.”