Symptoms, Risk Factors, And Causes Of Congenital Heart Diseases

Diabetes

An unborn child to a mother affected by diabetes is at a greater risk of having a congenital heart disease. An estimated five percent of infants born to mothers with diabetes are affected. The risk of heart defects is even greater when the mother develops insulin resistance in the third trimester as a result of gestational diabetes. The exact mechanism of how this happens is not clear, but it is known to have to do with the effects of maternal diabetes on metabolism. However, studies also show the degree of control the mother has over her gestational diabetes is not an influencing factor. The most common forms of congenital heart diseases in such cases include transposition of great arteries, ventricular septal defect, and aortic stenosis. Often times, there is a delay in the closure of the ductus arteriosus in infants with a congenital heart disease related to maternal diabetes. Fetal echocardiograms can help detect a congenital heart disease in unborn children of mothers affected by diabetes.