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Nutrition and growth in congenital heart disease: a challenge in children

Barbara Medoff-Cooper1, Chitra Ravishankar

  • 1School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Current Opinion in Cardiology
|February 2, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Feeding difficulties are common in infants with congenital heart defects, often leading to growth failure and failure to thrive. Structured nutritional programs can improve growth outcomes in these vulnerable children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Neonatal Surgery
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Growth failure is a recognized complication in infants undergoing complex neonatal cardiac surgery.
  • Feeding problems and their impact on growth patterns in children with congenital heart defects are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe feeding and growth patterns in children diagnosed with congenital heart defects.

Main Methods:

  • This is a review article, synthesizing existing literature on feeding and growth in pediatric congenital heart defect patients.

Main Results:

  • Approximately 50% of infants with univentricular heart defects require nutritional support (nasogastric or gastrostomy tubes) upon discharge.
  • Feeding challenges contribute to parental stress and can persist into childhood, with nearly 25% experiencing failure to thrive in the first year.
  • Short stature is prevalent and impacts neurodevelopmental outcomes; however, structured nutritional programs show promise for improving growth.

Conclusions:

  • Optimizing nutritional intake is a critical strategy in managing children with congenital heart defects.
  • The National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative is developing best practices to mitigate poor growth.
  • These initiatives aim to improve growth trajectories and long-term outcomes for children with congenital heart defects.
Abstract

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