Health

How a Heart Clinic in Singapore Supports Children with Congenital Heart Defects

A newborn born with a congenital cardiac abnormality happens every two minutes somewhere in the world. Hearing “your child has a heart problem” can be a huge shock to many parents. It can turn the joy of receiving a new life into a storm of worry, questions, and fear. A Heart Clinic in Singapore has become a safe haven of hope for families going through this because it combines world-class heart knowledge with excellent care that knows how hard the journey will be emotionally.

Southeast Asia knows that Singapore’s heart clinics are the best in pediatric cardiology. They provide complete care from prenatal visits to well into adulthood. We’ve seen amazing stories of little hearts getting better and families finding strength they didn’t know they had.

The Early Challenges of the Heart

The heart clinic in Singapore says that some congenital heart defects are differences in the heart’s basic structure. During fetal growth, the heart, which is basically a four-chambered pump with a number of valves and blood vessels, can develop structural problems. Heart clinics in Singapore are experts at finding and treating these differences, which can be easy or complicated.

At a heart clinic in Singapore, we see the following defects most often:

  • Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD): A hole in the heart wall that connects the lower chambers. This is the most common problem found in Singapore’s heart clinics. It affects around 1 out of every 500 newborns. The heart has to work harder than it needs to because of this unwanted hole. Oxygen-rich blood flows back to the lungs instead of out to the body.
  • Tetralogy of Fallot: There are four structural abnormalities that impact the heart. The heart clinics in Singapore have highly trained staff and surgical teams necessary to treat this complicated problem.
  • Atrial Septal Defect (ASD): It happens in the space between the upper chambers similar to VSD. Heart clinics in Singapore usually keep an eye on minor ASDs because they might close on their own. Larger ones need to be treated to avoid issues down the road.
  • Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA): An abnormal blood artery that does not seal properly after birth. It is common practice at Singapore’s heart clinic to medicate preterm newborns or use minimally invasive procedures to treat older babies with this issue.
  • Coarctation of the Aorta: A constriction of the major artery that supplies the body with blood from the heart. Specialized methods have been developed by Singapore’s heart clinic to treat this ailment, which is frequently identified by comparing the pulses of the upper and lower extremities.

Successful therapy still depends on early detection. Comprehensive screening procedures have been put in place at Singapore’s heart clinic, including:

  1. Prenatal echocardiogram that can show the architecture of the fetal heart by weeks 18–20 of pregnancy
  2. Regular pulse oximetry checks for all babies before they are sent home from the hospital
  3. CT angiography, 3D ultrasound, and cardiac MRI are some of the most advanced heart imaging techniques

Cadence Heart Centre: Singapore’s Collaborative Approach

Any visit to a heart clinic in Singapore will show you a well-coordinated team effort especially at Cadence Heart Centre. The interdisciplinary approach is a foundation of Singapore’s success in treating congenital cardiac diseases, however parents are often surprised by the number of doctors engaged in their child’s treatment.

In heart clinics in Singapore, the care team usually has the following:

  • Pediatric cardiologists are doctors who specialize in finding and treating heart problems in kids. Cardiologists trained at prestigious foreign schools come to Singapore’s heart clinics to bring the best global practices to local care.
  • Cardiovascular surgeons are experts at fixing problems with the heart’s structure. The heart clinics in Singapore have medical teams that have experience with even the most uncommon birth defects.
  • Cardiac nurses are specialized nurses that provide daily care and teach families how to take care of their child’s condition.
  • Cardiac physiotherapists are movement specialists who make sure that exercise plans are safe. Singapore’s heart clinics use exercise as part of regular care to help people grow physically.

Besides the medical help, children with congenital heart defects need help with nutrition to gain enough weight for the process, mental preparation for the hospital stay, and physical therapy afterward. Parents also need assistance figuring out their insurance and how to take time off from work.

Advanced Treatments in Singapore’s Heart Clinics

Singapore’s heart clinics have changed the way congenital and acquired heart problems are treated by providing advanced, less invasive options to open-heart surgery. To get to the heart, a thin, flexible tube is inserted via blood arteries, usually starting in the groin. Many processes are being carried out in this manner. With these methods, doctors can replace heart valves, fix holes like ASDs and VSDs, use tiny tubes to open tight valves, and fix arteries that aren’t working properly without having to do major surgery. For instance, Divya, who is eight months old and was born with a heart defect, had a catheter operation to treat her condition. The next day, she was sent home with just a small bandage. Patients of all ages in Singapore can now get world-class heart care with less impact to their daily lives due to these advances.

Heart clinics in Singapore are at the cutting edge of modern surgery and can fix even the most complicated heart problems in the most cutting edge ways. Surgeons use virtual reality simulations and 3D-printed heart models to carefully plan complicated surgeries. Intraoperative navigation devices guide every movement made during surgery. Even on extremely little infants, these novel concepts have made dangerous procedures safer and more successful. Among these are tetralogy of fallot repairs and arterial switch procedures.

By combining surgery with catheter-based treatments in one session, hybrid procedures let surgeons fix several cardiac problems while minimizing stress on young patients. Life-saving support equipment include ventricular assist devices and ECMO, which momentarily replaces heart and lung function, offer vital help for patients in severe condition until recovery or transplant.

Singapore’s Heart Clinics: Looking Forward

Heart clinics in Singapore do more than just give great medical care to families starting congenital heart care. They also give help, support, and hope. At first, it may seem like a long road, but doctors and families who have been through it before stress how important it is to keep going, how true hope is, and how far heart care has come. These clinics provide parents with social support, financial aid, and multilingual educational materials to help them through this journey. Children can live full and active lives with dedicated follow-up and compassionate support, even though the journey is difficult. 

Cadence Heart – Dr Devinder Singh

Mt Elizabeth Hospital

3 Mount Elizabeth #14-13

Mt Elizabeth Medical Centre

Singapore 228510

https://cadenceheart.sg/ 

Tel: (65) 8318 9884

Whatsapp: (65) 6369 8789

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