Manifestations
Many of the signs and symptoms of heart failure in infants and
children are similar to those in adults. They include fatigue, effort
intolerance, cough, anorexia, and abdominal pain. A subtle
sign of cardiorespiratory distress in infants and children is a
change in disposition or responsiveness, including irritability
or lethargy. Sympathetic stimulation produces peripheral vasoconstriction
and diaphoresis. Decreased renal blood flow often
results in a urine output of less than 0.5 to 1.0 mL/kg/hour, despite
adequate fluid intake. When right ventricular function is
impaired, systemic venous congestion develops. Hepatomegaly
caused by liver congestion often is one of the first signs of
systemic venous congestion in infants and children. However,
dependent edema or ascites rarely is seen unless the CVP is extremely
high. Because of their short, fat necks, jugular venous
distention is difficult to detect in infants; it is not a reliable sign
until the child is of school age or older.
Most commonly, children experience interstitial edema,
rather than alveolar pulmonary edema. This reduces lung compliance
and increases the work of breathing, causing tachypneaand increased respiratory effort. Older children display use of
accessory muscles (i.e., scapular and sternocleidomastoid).
Head bobbing and nasal flaring may be observed in infants.
Signs of respiratory distress often are the first and most noticeable
indication of heart failure in infants and young children.
Pulmonary congestion may be mistaken for bronchiolitis or
lower respiratory tract infection. The infant or young child with
respiratory distress often grunts with expiration. This grunting
effort (essentially, exhaling against a closed glottis) is an instinctive
effort to increase end-expiratory pressures and prevent
collapse of small airways and the development of atelectasis.
Respiratory crackles are uncommon in infants and usually suggest
development of a respiratory tract infection. Wheezes may
be heard, particularly if there is a large left-to-right shunt.
Infants with heart failure often have increased respiratory
problems during feeding.34 The history is one of prolonged
feeding with excessive respiratory effort and fatigue. Weight
gain is slow because of high energy requirements and low calorie
intake. Other frequently occurring manifestations of heart
failure in infants are excessive sweating (caused by increased
sympathetic tone), particularly over the head and neck, and repeated
lower respiratory tract infections. Peripheral perfusion
usually is poor, with cool extremities; tachycardia is common
(resting heart rate >150 beats per minute); and respiratory rate
is increased (resting rate >50 breaths per minute).