ABSTRACT
Keeping children with congenital heart disease healthy is
vital to their long-term survival and quality of life. Nurse
practitioners are in an excellent position to keep these sometimes
fragile children healthy before, between, and after their
cardiac surgeries. Primary care visits should address developmental
morbidity. Referral for in-depth evaluations and
intervention should be initiated for children with hemodynamically
significant heart disease. Infants may also experience
poor feeding. Nutritional guidance may include
fortifying formulas or enteral tube feedings. Attention to
immunization status and prevention of winter illnesses and
endocarditis may reduce complications in this high-risk
group of children. J Pediatr Health Care. (2011) 25, 373-378.