My baby is 7 years old, about to have heart valve repair surgery. Please ask the doctor after surgery, can the baby play sports and how? (Thuy Anh, HCMC)
Reply:
Congenital heart surgery is an operation performed to repair defects in the heart chambers, heart valves, heart walls, and large blood vessels that feed the heart. Some common congenital heart surgeries include ventricular septal defect or atrial septal defect, ductal closure, valve repair or replacement, tetralogy of Fallot surgery, etc.
After the operation, along with special care for pain relief and nutrition, parents need to build a reasonable exercise regime for the child to avoid hurting the incision and help the child recover faster. Specifically, guidelines on movement for children by age are as follows:
For children under 1 years old
During the first 2 weeks after surgery: Change the child's position frequently to avoid stagnation of viscous sputum, prevent lung collapse, and enhance blood circulation; Avoid activities that may affect the incision such as lying on the stomach, lying in an electric hammock, crawling, etc.
In the next 4 weeks: Allow children to move gently; Avoid letting children roll over or crawl, sit on a walker...
During the next 8 weeks: Children can move and live as usual; Note to avoid activities that affect the child's chest area such as falling, bumping, etc.
For children over 1 year old and adolescents
During the first 2 weeks after surgery: Do not let children lie on their stomach, move their limbs too hard or play sports.
In the next 4 weeks: Do not let children push or pull heavy objects; be able to exercise gently but avoid excessive arm movements; Do not run and jump much, do not climb stairs more than 2 floors.
In the next 8 weeks: Children can go to school and do normal activities; Avoid activities that have the potential to cause impact to the chest area such as playing soccer, martial arts, basketball, volleyball, etc.
Your baby is 7 years old, about to have heart valve repair surgery. During the postoperative period and the first 12 weeks after surgery, you need to follow your doctor's instructions about the right exercise regimen for your baby. After this time, your baby can return to normal activities, exercise or play moderate sports. However, it is recommended to start with gentle exercises such as slow walking, cycling, yoga ..., then gradually increase the exercise intensity and progress to playing badminton, swimming, football ... when the baby's health is completely stable.
While your baby plays sports, you should pay attention not to let him exercise too much, advise him to rest when he feels tired. Children after heart surgery should also not exercise in too hot or too cold weather because it easily affects blood pressure and increases the risk of other cardiovascular diseases. Ideally, you should take your child for regular check-ups and re-examination. Depending on the results of each follow-up visit: whether the child still has residual stenosis, pulmonary hypertension or pericardial fluid, the doctor will advise on exercises suitable for the body.
After heart surgery, children need to be monitored for life almost for life to detect abnormalities early and promptly handle if the disease recurs. Parents should encourage children to eat healthy and be physically active. This is a manifestation of a healthy lifestyle that children should maintain until adulthood.
BS.CKI Pham Thuc Minh Thuy
Department of Congenital Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center of Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City
