Your baby’s first heart test
Using a very simple test you have likely had yourself, we can screen babies for some of the most severe congenital heart conditions.
Heart defects are the most common birth defect in children. Most are harmless remnants of the circulation pattern in the womb (which changes after birth) and often go away as the baby grows. However, in about 25% of these babies the defect is much more serious and can cause serious illness or death if undetected and untreated. Unfortunately, many of these more serious defects have no symptoms at first and cannot be detected by examining the baby either. They may show symptoms several days after hospital discharge as the fetal circulation pattern changes to the normal pattern.
Prenatal ultrasounds have helped detect some of these conditions before the baby is even born. However, many are still not detected. Fortunately, there is a relatively simple test that can detect many of these defects prior to leaving the hospital.
You are probably familiar with a pulse ox (pulse oximetry) test, where a device shines a red light on the finger or toe and determines the amount of oxygen in the blood. You may have had it done yourself or seen it done; it has almost become one of the vital signs performed routinely, especially in emergency rooms and urgent care offices. This test can be done in newborns at different spots in the body which will show if oxygenated and unoxygenated blood is mixing improperly in the heart or major blood vessels.
The test is done on the right hand and either foot around 24 hours of life. Research has shown that this screening is quite effective, detecting about 75% of infants with these serious heart defects, although it will also be abnormal in some normal babies, requiring further testing to be sure the heart is normal.
This screening test was recommended for all newborns starting in 2011, and within a very short time became standard by law or regulation in almost every state in the United States.
Resources
Video from Children’s National Medical Center’s Congenital Heart Disease Screening Program
