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• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Your ideas about causes >> Your ideas about causes

Your ideas about causes

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• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 1-3 >> Interview CH11 >> Comments that Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart defect had not been identified in her family until her son was diagnosed with it.

Jack was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), which was later diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Treatment: none given yet. A radio-frequency catheter ablation is planned at age 5-7 years. Current medication: none, amiodarone until age 1yr.

• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 1-3 >> Interview CH14 >> Comments that she went through a stage of blaming herself which recurs occasionally several years later.

Sam was diagnosed with a complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD), pulmonary atresia and right atrial isomerism. Other problems: No spleen and mal-rotation of the gut. Treatment: A BT shunt at 24 hrs old, followed by the Glenn procedure at 6 months. More surgery planned. Current medication: warfarin, penicillin.

• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 1-3 >> Interview CH30 >> Explains that her daughter's heart defect was just bad luck and she did not see any benefits in dwelling on what the cause might have been.

Their daughter was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, VSD, and an overiding aorta. Treatment: closed heart surgery (shunt) at 11 days old closed heart surgery (shunt) at 11 months old. Corrective open heart surgery at 2 and a half yrs old. Current medication: none.

• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 4-5 >> Interview CH26 >> Believes her daughter's heart defect happened for a reason and she didn't blame anyone for it.

Her daughter was diagnosed with Partial Ventricular Septal Defect after GP noticed a heart murmur when she was two. Treatment: open heart surgery to repair hole and mend the valve at 2½ yrs old. Pacemaker fitted 5 days after surgery. Possibility of further surgery in the future. Current medication: none.

• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 1-3 >> Interview CH22 >> They started searching for a reason for their daughter's heart defect but were reassured when their doctor told them they had not done anything to cau

Millie was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta and a VSD at 3 weeks old. Treatment: she had closed heart surgery to repair the coarctation and a band was put around the pulmonary artery at 3 weeks old. At 7 months old she had open heart surgery to repair her VSD. Current medication: captopril.

• Heart disease >> Parents of children with congenital heart disease >> Child aged 1-3 >> Interview CH23 >> Comment that records from earlier generations do not give any indication of what had caused several infant deaths so that it was useless to speculate

Caitlan was diagnosed with Pulmonary Atresia, VSD and Dextro cardia. Treatment: closed heart surgery at 48 hrs old and open heart surgery at 11 months old. Further surgery planned when their daughter is older. Current medication: none.