Address: Innova Children's Heart Hospital, White House, Tarnaka - Moulaali Road, Hyderabad Tel. +91-40-27007272

Follow us on Facebook

Management of conduction disturbance

The rate and rhythm disturbances can occur with birth defects or following the surgical correction. Some of the rate and rhythm disturbances can be managed medically. The slower heart rate is also called complete heart block, can be treated with permanent pace maker implantation which need to be changed once in 5-10 years.

  Endocarditis Prophylaxis

The American Heart Association has recently changed its guidelines for prevention of endocarditis. Some children who used to take antibiotics before going to the dentist no longer have to do so.

The AHA now recommends these routine antibiotics before dental visits for patients who are at the highest risk for adverse outcomes if they develop endocarditis. This includes:
1. People with a prosthetic cardiac valve
2. People who have previously had endocarditis
3. People with certain types of congenital heart defects, including
  a. Unrepaired cyanotic congenital heart defects, including palliative shunts and conduits
  b. Completely repaired congenital heart defects with prosthetic material or device, whether placed by surgery or by catheter intervention, during the first six months after the procedure (prophylaxis is recommended for first six months because endothelialization of prosthetic material occurs within six months after the procedure)
  c. Repaired congenital heart defect with residual defects at the site or adjacent to the site of a prosthetic patch or prosthetic device (which inhibit endothelialization)
4. Cardiac transplantation recipients who develop heart valve dysfunction
Except for the conditions listed above, antibiotic prophylaxis is no longer recommended for any other form of congenital heart disease.
Routine antibiotics before gastrointestinal or genitourinary tract procedures solely to prevent endocarditis are no longer recommended for any patients.