41,000 kids in Karnataka have congenital heart diseases: Data

Bengaluru: Close to 41,000 school-going children have been diagnosed with congenital heart diseases over the last three years in Karnataka, but less than 50 per cent of these kids have received treatment, according to data.

Screening done as part of the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) programme picked up these cases of congenital heart diseases, which refer to problems in development of the heart before birth.

“After the children are screened and the heart disease is identified, they are referred to tertiary care centers and a few other institutions which provide free treatment and are empanelled under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST)," a senior official from the health department said. The official said these children are provided treatment under the Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka scheme.

"However, tracking and following up with each child is difficult on ground,” he added.

To overcome this, the state health department is now planning to integrate pregnancy scanning with newborn check ups so that any anomalies identified during the ultrasound scans are available for paediatricians. 

“Most of these congenital heart diseases can be identified in the anomaly scan done during pregnancy," said Harsh Gupta, Pricipal Secretary (Health). "However, data is not being recorded and is not available after the delivery. Hence, we want to integrate scanning details into the database and this will allow further follow up of such children.” 

Once the system is in place, any newborn identified with congenital disease will be marked as a high risk foetus and the doctors will be watchful of the baby’s developments.

Early detection crucial

Early detection of congenital heart diseases can save lives.

“Early detection and treatment play a big role in determining the quality of life of these children," said Dr Kavya Mallikarjun, Consultant-Paediatric Cardiology at a private hospital on Old Airport Road. "If identified early and treated soon, the outcomes will be excellent and the kids can practically live life almost normally.” 

However, heart screening is not mandatory at birth in India and only a few private hospitals perform such screenings at birth. 

“Most hospitals do basic screening soon after birth which includes a physical exam and, in some centres, pulse oximetry to check oxygen levels. But universal screening is not practiced consistently and is not yet standard everywhere in India,” said Dr Pradeep Kumar D,  Senior Consultant-Cardiology at a private hospital in Marathalli.

But doctors say awareness has increased among parents. “Many times, parents themselves ask for a heart screening and scan at pregnancy,” said PRLN Prasad, Interventional Cardiologist at a private hospital in Kengeri.