Many infants suffer heart desease: Expert<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Up to 10 out of every 1,000 Indonesian infants
\nsuffer congenital heart disease which develops in the first three
\nmonths of pregnancy, a medical expert says.<\/p>\n
Speaking at his inauguration Wednesday as a professor at
\nUniversity of Indonesia's medical school, Bambang Mardiyono said
\nit was wrong to think that coronary heart disease was only
\nprevalent among adults.<\/p>\n
Traditional medicine, birth control pills, X-rays, radiation
\nand physical and mental trauma were among the factors which could
\naffect an infant's heart condition, he said.<\/p>\n
Heart disease in the left-side of an infant's heart would
\ncause breathlessness and in the right-side it would cause legs
\nand other limbs to swell, Bambang said.<\/p>\n
Besides congenital heart disease, many children aged between
\nfive and 15 years were at risk because of rheumatic fever which
\ncould lead to rheumatic heart disease, he added.<\/p>\n
Bambang explained that rheumatic fever originated from throat
\ninflammation caused by airborne streptococcus bacteria.<\/p>\n
The body produces antibodies to destroy the bacteria. But in
\nsome children, the antibodies combine with antigens and attack
\nheart tissues permanently damaging the heart valves. The damage
\ncauses breathlessness and fluid accumulation on the legs and
\nback, often causing swelling.<\/p>\n
Streptococcus commonly affected people in unhygienic
\nenvironments with poor medical care, he said.<\/p>\n
\"That's why most sufferers in Indonesia come from the poor who
\nlive in badly contaminated slum areas,\" said Bambang, a member of
\nthe Indonesian Pediatric Association.<\/p>\n
To avoid heart disease, a child with throat infection should
\nbe referred to a doctor immediately, he said.<\/p>\n
He said that, if a heart became swollen, the patient had to
\ntake anti-inflammatory medicine, such as corticosteroids. If it
\nwas a serious heart problem, with symptoms including
\nbreathlessness and swollen legs, the patient had to take
\nmedication to strengthen the heart, he said.<\/p>\n
Pediatrics should play a more important role in the prevention
\nof heart disease through information campaigns, he said.<\/p>\n
Pediatricians should be able to diagnose heart problems, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"We still lack pediatric cardiologists in all provinces,
\nfacilities and high-tech heart treatment,\" Bambang said. (39)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/many-infants-suffer-heart-desease-expert-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}