CONGENITAL heart disease remains one of the most pressing health challenges for children in Fiji and the Pacific, with the majority of cases linked to structural defects at birth.
Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevni Children’s Hospital medical director Dr Krupali Tappoo said the most common conditions seen at the hospital were patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), atrial septal defects (ASD) and ventricular septal defects (VSD).
“A lot of the surgeries that we do are for children who are born with heart disease or congenital heart disease,” Dr Krupali said.
“Many of the surgeries that we’ve done which are the common ones are PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) – where there’s a connection between the aorta, which is a big artery, and the pulmonary artery, and basically there’s a connection between the two which needs to be clipped and tied off.
“Atrial septal defects, where there’s a hole in the top chambers of the heart, that’s also common, and ventricular septal defects, where there’s a hole in the bottom chambers of the heart, are also common.
“Those are the most common ones.”
She said they have also done other surgeries like tetralogy of fallot, total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), pacemaker insertion for heart blocks, AVSD (atrioventricular septal defect) canal repair, and pulmonary artery bandings.
“We’ve also done valve repairs for rheumatic heart disease as well, the mitral valve repair, aortic valve repair.
“A lot of different types of surgeries have been conducted in this hospital, and some are quite complex as well and take up to four to six hours while some would even take up to eight hours.”
Dr Krupali said while some heart defects are caused by genetic factors, others are linked to maternal health and environment during pregnancy.
“Maternal diet plays a big role. Deficiencies in iron and folic acid, as well as conditions such as diabetes, can increase risks.
“Smoking in pregnancy and infections such as rubella or chicken pox can also contribute.”
She stressed the importance of antenatal care and public awareness.
“These children are born with the condition, it is not their fault. But what we can do as a community is support expectant mothers with good nutrition, early medical care, and vaccinations to reduce risks.”
