Congenital heart disease - Symptoms of congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease can have a range of symptoms, as the condition refers to several different types of heart defect.

General signs of congenital heart disease can include:

• excessive sweating
• extreme tiredness and fatigue
• poor feeding
• rapid heartbeat
• rapid breathing
• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• a blue tinge to the skin (cyanosis)
• clubbed fingernails

In more severe cases, these problems may develop shortly after birth. However, symptoms sometimes don't develop until the teenage years or early adulthood.

Read more about the types of congenital heart disease.

Complications

Children and adults with congenital heart disease can also develop a range of further problems, such as:

• problems with growth and development
• repeated respiratory tract infections (RTIs) – infections of the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs
• heart infection (endocarditis)
• pulmonary hypertension – raised blood pressure within the blood vessels that supply the lungs (pulmonary arteries)
• heart failure – where the heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure

Read more about the complications of congenital heart disease.