Heart valve diseases and surgeries
Heart valve surgery is a procedure to treat heart valve disease. Heart valve disease occurs when at least one of the heart's four valves becomes less efficient. Heart valves keep blood flowing in the right direction through the heart.
The four heart valves are the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve, and aortic valve. Each valve contains flaps, called leaflets in the mitral and tricuspid valves, and called cusps in the aortic and pulmonary valves. These flaps should open and close once during each heartbeat. Valves that do not open and close correctly lead to a change in the pattern of blood flow from the heart to the body.
In heart valve surgery, the surgeon repairs or replaces damaged or damaged heart valves. Ways to do this may include open-heart surgery or minimally invasive heart surgery.
The type of heart valve surgery needed depends on your age, general health condition, and the type and severity of heart valve disease.
Heart attack... its symptoms and signs
A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is severely reduced or blocked. The blockage is often the result of the accumulation of fat, cholesterol, and other substances in the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries). These fatty deposits that contain cholesterol are called plaques. The process of plaque buildup is called atherosclerosis.
The plaque can sometimes rupture and form a clot that blocks blood flow. The lack of blood flow causes damage to part of the heart muscle or destroys it completely.
What is artificial respiration?
Artificial Respiration or Artificial Ventilation is known as the method used to stimulate and assist breathing, when natural breathing stops in certain cases, such as: drowning, suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, and electric shock, and it is considered part of first aid, Which aims to restore the ability to breathe normally.
How to do artificial respiration
Artificial respiration is performed in two stages:
- The first stage: Trying to create an open passage for air from the upper respiratory tract.
- The second stage: achieving the process of exchanging air and carbon dioxide while the heart is still working.
- For the success of these two stages, it must be started as soon as possible and continued until it is certain that the patient is able to breathe again.
What are the methods of artificial respiration?
There are different methods of artificial respiration, which are divided into manual and mechanical methods, which will be detailed as follows:
Manual methods of artificial respiration
Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation: This method is done by manually blowing air into the lungs of the injured person, then the paramedic blows the exhaled air into the lungs of the injured person, and this method is part of the steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Breathing using a mask: This method is the recommended method and is often resorted to if the patient cannot breathe, which is done using a mechanical device that helps the patient breathe by applying pressure on the airways to help open them and achieve the natural breathing process.
Mouth-to-nose breathing: The rescuer often resorts to this method if there is vomiting in the patient’s mouth or injuries, and thus air is blown into the nose to deliver air to the patient.
Mechanical methods or artificial respiration machine
This method is known as the artificial ventilation machine that is performed in the hospital under the supervision of the doctor, where air is blown into the lungs to maintain the level of oxygen in the blood, but to obtain this advantage the doctor needs a way to reach the lungs, for example a tube may be inserted into the mouth. Or the nose, or in the opening of the trachea by making a tracheostomy.
Schaffer's Method
One of the advantages of this method is that water is easily drained from the abdomen and lungs. It is an easy and non-tiring method, especially in the case of chest or back injuries. It is done through these steps:
- The patient is placed on his stomach, making sure to extend one arm straight up and the other arm bent at the elbow.
- The face is turned outward so that the nose and mouth are available for breathing.
- The doctor places his hand on the patient's waist and applies pressure by bending forward.
- The doctor pushes the abdominal viscera to cause exhalation, and thus the exhalation is pressed forward until a backward bend occurs.
Sylvester's Method
This method helps activate both inhalation and exhalation for good breathing, but one of its disadvantages is that water cannot be drained from the lungs, as the patient is often lying on his back, and therefore this procedure is not used in cases of drowning, and these are the most prominent steps in it.
- A pillow is placed under the patient's shoulder and neck, and the doctor then kneels near his head.
- The doctor grabs the patient's wrist to pull his arms up, which in turn causes him to inhale.
- The arms are bent forward to put pressure on the patient which in turn causes the patient to exhale.
Your child and congenital heart disease
A congenital heart defect is a problem with the structure of the heart that a baby is born with Some congenital heart defects that affect children are simple and do not require treatment. While other congenital heart defects that affect children are more complex and may require several surgeries over several years.
Gaining information about your child's congenital heart defect may help you understand the disease and get a better idea of his or her prognosis in the coming months and years.
Symptoms
Serious congenital heart defects are usually discovered soon after birth, or within the first few months of a baby's life. Signs and symptoms may include:
- Gray or pale blue discoloration of the lips, tongue, or nails (cyanosis)
- Rapid breathing
- Swelling of the legs, abdomen, or areas around the eyes
- Shortness of breath during breastfeeding, which leads to the infant not gaining weight normally
Less serious cases of congenital heart defects cannot be diagnosed until late in childhood. Signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects in older children may include:
- Getting short of breath quickly during exercise or activities
- Feeling tired quickly during exercise or activities
- Fainting during exercise or activities
- Swelling of the hands, ankles, or feet