Emergency Medicine: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Pediatric Cardiac Emergencies

Maria C Yates and Syamasundar Rao P

With the advent of and advancesin diagnostic methods and transcatheter and surgical treatment modes, patients with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are surviving longer. Cardiac defects that were once fatal in infancy are now treatable and patients are surviving into adulthood. However, these patients are at increased risk of acute events and therefore, likely to frequent emergency rooms. These patients should now be added to the group of CHD patients that would ordinarily come thru’ the emergency rooms. Presented in this review is a selection of the more common lifethreatening pediatric cardiac emergencies likely to be encountered in the emergency department. The identification and management of Supraventricular tachycardia, hyper cyanotic spells, congestive heart failure, emergencies in the palliated patients with a functional single ventricle and neurologic events related to congenital heart disease are discussed.