A Critical Comparison of the Management and Treatment of Heart Congenital Anomalies in Australia and Kenya
The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2018) explains congenital anomalies as ‘..structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life and can be identified prenatally, at birth or later in life.’ It is estimated that 303,000 babies die within four weeks of their birth annually due to congenital malformations, some of which can be prevented (WHO 2015). There are various causes of heart congenital anomalies, with majority resulting from multiple gene defects or interactions with defective genes in the foetal environment (Leggat 2011). Blue et al. (2012), states congenital heart disease affects 2,000 newborns annually in
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2012). An organisation called HeartKids (2017) provides funding for research to gain a better understanding of congenital heart anomalies as there are still many unknown factors that contribute to the development of these abnormalities. This foundation attracted a further $1.1 million in funding from the Australian Government which funded seven new research projects (HeartKids 2017, p. 4). HeartKids (2017, p.4) also assists Australian families by paying for surgeries and treatments required by congenital heart disease patients, with $235,000 of financial assistance distributed in 2016. In Kenya, there is a similar organisation called Hearts for Kids (n.d.a) which runs the Take Heart Association Project (THAP). This project aims for Kenya to have a self-sufficient program that provides necessary medical care to those that suffer from congenital heart disease, especially those who cannot financially afford the expensive care (Hearts for Kids n.d.a). Many medical and organisational partners assist THAP to execute its mission of ‘facilitating and coordinating the pre- and post-operative medical care for children who suffer from heart disease and heart defects.’ (Hearts for Kids n.d.b). The financial aid has enabled 188 Kenyan children to receive the treatment they required to lead healthy lives since the organisation started in the early 1990’s (Hearts for …show more content…
Based on what researchers heard from the affected families, HeartKids (2017) created a program focusing on how families can learn to adapt to parenting a child with a congenital heart disease. Support teams were then trained based on the new program, with staff being located in both remote and densely populated areas, ensuring all families have access to a support system (HeartKids 2017). Similarly, THAP provides support programs for families in Kenya, although they are not updated as regularly and can be difficult to access for people living in remote areas as they have limited technology access to participate (Hearts for Kids n.d.a). The lack of access to technology may not just be in remote areas but also the more populated areas due to the lower socioeconomic status which is not a problem in Australia (Hearts for Kids n.d.a). A large majority of the Australian population can access technology, even if they are deemed as less fortunate. While both countries have support programs available to families affected by congenital heart disease, accessibility to the program is higher in Australia compared to Kenya due to the higher socio-economic
First and foremost, Eisenmenger syndrome was initially described in 1897 when German physician, Victor Eisenmenger, reported on a patient with symptoms of dyspnea and cyanosis from infancy that subsequently developed heart failure (Connolly, 2014). The postmortem description was revealed and a ventricular septal defect was discovered (El-Chami et al., 2014a). With that being said, this had been the first time that the link between a large congenital cardiac shunt defect and the development of pulmonary hypertension had ever been noted (El-Chami et al., 2014b). The normal heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers are separated from each other by the atrial septum (NORD, 2014a). The two lower chambers are known as ventricles and are separated from each other by the ventricular septum (NORD, 2014b).
“Hypoplastic left heart syndrome accounts for 9% of all critically ill newborns with congenital cardiac disease, causing the largest number of cardiac deaths in the first year of life.(2) ” HLHS is a severe heart defect that is present at birth. HLHS combines different defects that result in an underdeveloped left side of the heart. This syndrome is one of the most challenging and difficult to manage of all of the congenital heart defects. Multiple portions on the left side of the heart are affected including the left ventricle, the mitral and aortic valve, and the ascending aorta. These structures are greatly reduced in size, or completely nonexistent causing the functionality of the left heart to be reduced, or non-functional all together.
According to Batshaw, Roizen, and Lotrecchiano (2013), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is “the persistence of a fetal passage permitting blood to bypass the lungs” (p. 745). This is an inherited heart condition in which the ductus, a small pathway between the pulmonary and the aortic, valves remain open. This cardiovascular problem usually occurs in low birth weight infants. The blood vessels usually naturally closes after birth (Batshaw et al., 2013, p. 96). It becomes atypical if it remains open after the neonatal period. The structure usually closes in typical developing newborns around the initial 24 hours, and anatomical closure is supposed to follow several weeks later (Stanford Children’s Health, 2015). At the point when the ductus arteriosus stays open, the blood from the oxygen-rich aorta blends with the oxygen-poor pulmonary artery causing the higher chance of blood pressure in the lung pathways (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Certain children who have patent ductus arteriosus may be given medication, relying upon the circumstance to standardize the blood and oxygen levels until surgery is performed. Doctor can treat this condition by providing pharmaceutical medicine, catheter-based procedures, and surgery (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011).
Individuals with trisomy 13 often have many abnormalities that can be major or minor in the development of a child in the womb. Due to the life-threatening medical problems, many children born with trisomy 13 die within the first few weeks or days after they are born. Only a few of children with this condition live past their first year after they are born. The condition is very difficult to discover until a child is born. Mainly because it involves brain and heart abnormalities that are life threatening. Poor diagnosis of patients with trisomy 13 has long been accepted and has been found to have many complex brain and heart malformations. The child may live longer with heart or brain surgery but it is still rare to live past the age of 3 months. Surgery is tried to be avoided the most because of the child
For Great Artery Stenosis in Children with Congenital Cardiac Disease." Cardiology in the Young 22.2 (2012): 178-183. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
“In 1984, a baboon heart was transplanted into a newborn infant, Baby Fae, who had hypoplastic left heart syndrome and lived 20 days after heart surgery” (Bailey LL, Nehlsen-Cannarella SL, Concepcion W, et al. Baboon-to-human cardiac xenotransplantation in a neonate. JAMA. 1985 Dec 20.
The purpose of this paper is to establish an understanding of the rare heart disease Tetralogy of Fallot. Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect that is present at birth, with the structure of the heart being problematic. It changes the normal flow of blood through the heart. The aspects of it being explained are the overall disease and symptoms of it. Secondly, the long term and short term effects corresponding to the particular disease. Lastly, the causes, prevention, and statistics of the disease. This research will provide an insight to the disease and all aspects and forms. It will allow a better understanding on how to cope with such disease or better prepare us in a case where this disease may be present and have to be dealt with.
Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a fairly common inherited connective-tissue disorder. The syndrome can be found in 1 in every 5000 births worldwide (Giarelli, Bernhardt, & Pyeritz, 2010). MFS has been recognized for more than 100 years, in fact it was speculated that Abraham Lincoln had the disorder (Amado & Thomas, 2002). There is still no current cure, but early recognition and intervention can play a key role in the prevention of the sudden cardiac complications (Midla, 2008). For those Marfan patients diagnosed the life expectancy is close to normal, yet tends to be under diagnosed (Pyrietz, 2000). The nurse should have a broader understanding of MFS since recognition is essential for the diagnosis. Since MFS is primarily an inherited disorder, it of equal importance that the nurse understands that a referral to a geneticist is an imperative n...
There have been major discoveries that have led to better and improved health care services. For example, computerization has helped in many parts of the medicine field such as better treatment of cancer and the likes. The life expectancy rose to 78.7 in 2013 which was a record number since colonial period (Howe, 1990). There has also been the invention of great and scientific medicines that have ensured that the life of a person can be prolonged. For instance, Anti-rectal Viral drugs (ARV’s) are known to help a person fight the HIV and AIDS viruses in the body and therefore prolonging the life expectancy by several years. The government also sets aside millions of shillings that are supposed to be used by research and development institutions to come up with findings on current issues in the health sector. With all these medical efforts, they lead to reduced mortality rates in general. Some families that live below the poverty line, as seen in the video, will then be forced to choose between medical care and other basic needs. The little funds that they are left with is supposed to take care of the family members of which is little to sustain all of them and therefore leading to some cases of hunger and starvation. The age-adjusted death rate for the United States decreased 1.1% from 2011 to 2012 to a record low of 732.8 per
Shown by the dark, and emotional stories told in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” and Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Tell-Tale Heart,” similar writing styles become apparent. Edgar Allan Poe is known for his dark stories that are borderline psychopathic, whereas Hawthorne’s stories provide a sense of hopelessness, and are considered as depressing tales. Both writers have very vivid imaginations that translate into the stories they write. These tales are only two examples of extraordinary pieces of American Gothic Literature that can be compared between the two authors. “The Birthmark” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” are Hawthorne and Poe’s way of telling two different stories that share a common
The aim of this essay is to critically analyse a clinical incident involving an adult with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). I will define reflection, then select a reflective model and critically reflect on the incident demonstrating my new found knowledge. Lastly, I will suggest how nursing practice should change to improve the care of this group of patients.
In the US, heart attacks kill more people than any other single cause. Many of the deaths are caused by electrical disturbances in a damaged heart that cause it to fibrillate (Pool). Despite current overwhelming interest in the operations of the human heart, for most of history the human heart has been regarded as a "forbidden organ too delicate to tamper with" (NOVA). In fact, it might have remained so, were it not for World War II where military doctors, faced with massive numbers of injuries ushered the world into our current medical trajectory.
It was with great sadness that I watched the documentary. I saw Kenyan children from a small village living in extreme poverty. These children must live with the two most devastating factors for children: poverty and lack of education. If a child’s environment is not nurturing, the child can suffer both mentally and physically. Therefore, poverty and lack of education are both factors that most negatively affect a child.
I think it is incredible that we have made such advancements in fetal medicine that surgeons are actually able to perform surgery on a fetus while in utero. Deformities like a cleft lip or pallet are about to be fixed in the womb before the child is even born. The video specifically shows a fetus at 26 weeks who has a hole in his diaphragm. This would cause a problem for him after birth if left unfixed because his intestines would grow into his lung cavity preventing him from being able to breath air outside of the womb. Fortunately with medical advancements, doctors were able to perform a procedure on the fetus where a balloon was placed between his diaphragm and lungs to prevent any obstruction from developing. As soon as the child is born the balloon will be removed and he will likely be able to go on without any difficulty breathing. Having access to this particular fetal procedure has increased survival of newborns with this condition by fifty percent. This is just one of many advancements in fetal medicine. We have also come a long way with premature babies, and micro preemies. Babies born at as early as 24 weeks have a more than fifty percent chance of survival. That is why 24 weeks of pregnancy is often times referred to the viability
The human heart is one, if not the most, vital organ in the human body. The heart pumps blood through the circulatory system. It is what provides the body with oxygen and nutrients. Of course, without this important, muscular, organ there would be no way to survive. “Everyday your heart beats about 100,000 times, sending 2,000 gallons of blood surging through your body. Although it is no bigger than your fist, your heart has a mighty job of keeping blood flowing through 60,000 miles of blood vessels that feed your organs and tissues” (Watson n.pag.). Any type of damage or restriction to the heart or its valves can reduce pumping. Cardiovascular diseases are examples that cause damage to the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death globally, accounting for thirty percent of deaths. Since the heart has such an important role in the human body, it is critical that it is functioning and working properly. An important medical test used to observe the heart is called transesophageal echocardiography, also known as TEE.