Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause choking on milk?

Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
Updated on December 21, 2024
00:00
00:00

Ventricular septal defect can lead to choking on milk, as it can cause pathological murmurs in children, especially prominent in the chest area, which is a type of congenital heart disease. Currently, early surgical treatment is recommended for these children. The choking on milk might be due to reasons related to the digestive system, but it is still somewhat related to the ventricular septal defect. It is also advised to eat smaller, more frequent meals to avoid choking or aspiration, which can lead to bronchitis or recurrent respiratory infections.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
46sec home-news-image

What would happen if the ventricular septal defect occluder dislodges?

An occluder generally works like two umbrella surfaces clamped over the orifice of the interventricular septal defect, achieving the method whereby tissue blood flow enters from the left side of the septum to the right side. Once an occluder dislodges, it can lead to a dangerous situation, as the occluder has a membrane that can easily get caught on the tendons of the mitral valve, causing severe mitral regurgitation; it can also get stuck at the mitral valve orifice, obstructing the outflow of blood; it may also lead to aortic valve insufficiency; if it gets caught in the major arteries, it can cause arterial embolism, leading to sudden death in the patient. Therefore, the dislodgement of an occluder is a very dangerous phenomenon.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
38sec home-news-image

Why does a ventricular septal defect cause respiratory infections?

Because ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, it mainly leads to pulmonary infections in children, often causing respiratory infections. If this condition is not treated in time, it can worsen the symptoms, decrease the child's resistance, and lead to frequent respiratory diseases. Early surgical treatment is recommended to improve the child's symptoms. It is also important to monitor the child's breathing, heart rate, and pulse changes, and it is advisable to regularly revisit the hospital for an echocardiogram. Early surgical treatment is recommended as it can completely cure the disease.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 24sec home-news-image

Does a ventricular septal defect affect development?

Does a ventricular septal defect affect development? For relatively small ventricular septal defects, such as those under five millimeters, the shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle is minimal, hence patients may not exhibit noticeable symptoms. However, if the defect is larger, for instance, over five millimeters, a large volume of blood will flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricular system. This causes congestion in the right ventricular system and the pulmonary circulation will be flooded with blood. As the saying goes, "flowing water does not rot, nor do door hinges become worm-eaten"; however, when a large amount of blood accumulates in the pulmonary vessels, patients are prone to recurrent respiratory infections and even congestive right heart failure, which then leads to feeding difficulties. Patients feel consistently uncomfortable and have difficulty breathing, so they may be reluctant to eat, especially in young children who need considerable effort to drink milk, which requires some breath-holding. At this time, patients experience feeding difficulties, which equates to developmental delays. Therefore, larger ventricular septal defects can affect a child's development. Small defects, such as those under three millimeters, might not affect development, but larger defects do impact development and thus require timely treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
43sec home-news-image

Causes of hoarseness due to ventricular septal defect.

If a patient exhibits some ventricular septal defects, it is possible for hoarseness to occur, as this condition is a type of congenital heart disease. If a patient frequently experiences hoarseness, it might be caused by congenital heart disease, but chronic pharyngitis or laryngitis, which can also cause hoarseness, should not be ruled out. Additionally, conditions like vocal cord polyps or deeper diseases can lead to hoarseness. However, it is important to differentiate these from normal diseases. If the issue is solely a ventricular septal defect, surgical treatment can be recommended for the patient, which can achieve a complete cure. Attention should also be paid to maintaining a healthy diet.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
43sec home-news-image

Can ventricular septal defect be detected during prenatal screening?

Ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease that can only be diagnosed through an echocardiogram. Routine prenatal screenings cannot detect it. Particularly for newborns, it’s advisable to have an echocardiogram, and for fetuses, a four-dimensional ultrasound is recommended. Sometimes, ultrasound results can only serve as a reference and may not indicate actual problems, but there is also a certain margin of error. If a child has congenital heart disease, it is advisable to have regular echocardiogram check-ups at the hospital. This allows timely identification of the cause, and determination of whether surgery is necessary for treatment, which is the ultimate goal.