“…A recent study reported that children with surgically corrected cyanotic lesions had significantly poorer performance in all areas of academic functioning compared with a group of children with previously diagnosed innocent murmurs or a spontaneously closing ventricular septal defect 18. Poor concentration19 and learning difficulties20
21 have also been reported.…”
Objective-To evaluate changes in cognitive and academic functioning following cardiac surgery in children with congenital heart disease. Design-A prospective cross sectional study in which patients were assessed immediately before treatment and 12 months later. Patients-Three groups of children aged 3.5-17 years: a group with congenital heart disease awaiting surgery, another awaiting bone marrow transplantation, and a healthy comparison group. Main outcome measures-Intelligence quotient and measures of academic attainment, evaluated with the British Ability Scales. Results-Preoperatively, children with cyanotic lesions showed deficits in comparison with those with acyanotic lesions. Postoperatively, children with cyanotic lesions showed a deterioration in performance and achieved significantly lower scores than those with acyanotic lesions. While there were significant diVerences between the congenital heart disease and bone marrow transplantation groups preoperatively, these were no longer apparent at follow up. Conclusions-In contrast to previously published findings, the present results suggest that cardiac surgery does not result in early postoperative improvements in cognitive function for children with congenital heart disease. The nature of the cardiac lesion continues to aVect cognitive and academic performance, even after surgery. (Heart 2001;85:687-691)
“…A recent study reported that children with surgically corrected cyanotic lesions had significantly poorer performance in all areas of academic functioning compared with a group of children with previously diagnosed innocent murmurs or a spontaneously closing ventricular septal defect 18. Poor concentration19 and learning difficulties20
21 have also been reported.…”
Objective-To evaluate changes in cognitive and academic functioning following cardiac surgery in children with congenital heart disease. Design-A prospective cross sectional study in which patients were assessed immediately before treatment and 12 months later. Patients-Three groups of children aged 3.5-17 years: a group with congenital heart disease awaiting surgery, another awaiting bone marrow transplantation, and a healthy comparison group. Main outcome measures-Intelligence quotient and measures of academic attainment, evaluated with the British Ability Scales. Results-Preoperatively, children with cyanotic lesions showed deficits in comparison with those with acyanotic lesions. Postoperatively, children with cyanotic lesions showed a deterioration in performance and achieved significantly lower scores than those with acyanotic lesions. While there were significant diVerences between the congenital heart disease and bone marrow transplantation groups preoperatively, these were no longer apparent at follow up. Conclusions-In contrast to previously published findings, the present results suggest that cardiac surgery does not result in early postoperative improvements in cognitive function for children with congenital heart disease. The nature of the cardiac lesion continues to aVect cognitive and academic performance, even after surgery. (Heart 2001;85:687-691)
“…Many of the teachers said that children with CHD often struggle to concentrate (Kallfelz et al, 1992), and this can add to the difficulties that some of them have with understanding and remembering the content of lessons. Farr et al (2018) similarly found that parents of children and adolescents with CHD commonly reported that their child had difficulties with learning, concentration, and communication.This girl has difficulties understanding everything, and also with her memory (Teacher 5).They usually find it hard to concentrate, and this means they're a bit behind.…”
Educational attainment is closely associated with health. The objective is to explore the extent to which children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are afforded the same educational and socialization opportunities as their healthy peers. We used a qualitative phenomenological design with convenience sampling. Data gathered 27 semistructured interviews: children with CHD (n = 9), parents (n = 10), and professionals (n = 8) in Catalonia, Spain. Interview transcripts were coded using the constant comparative method and analyzed using ATLAS.ti software. The analysis revealed three themes describing the experience of schooling for children with CHD: (1) Empowering and enabling a child with CHD to achieve academically and engage socially is a challenge for parents; (2) Teachers lack the resources and specific skills necessary to meet the diversity needs of children with CHD; (3) Parents and teachers have low expectations regarding the academic achievement of a child with CHD. Further application of the constant comparison method yielded a core theme: (4) Children with CHD experience exclusion from peer group social learning activities. Further efforts are needed for more effective collaboration and coordination between educational and health professionals to provide support for teachers and families and enable children to be better integrated within schools.
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