Hole in the heart: when to get help

1. 1

   Is any of this happening now?

   Call 911

   Call emergency services for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, chest pain with sweating or breathlessness, signs of stroke, or blue-grey lips, tongue or skin.

   Stroke signs can include sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, vision loss or loss of balance.

   And for anyone, someone who:

   • has chest pain, tightness or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
   Other emergency signs, for anyone

   • Someone who is struggling to breathe, gasping, choking, or cannot get words out
   • Someone who has sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
   • Someone who is unconscious, or cannot be woken
   • Someone who is bleeding heavily and it will not stop with firm pressure
   • Someone who has had a seizure that will not stop, or does not wake up afterwards
   • Someone who has lips or skin that look pale, blue, grey or blotchy
   • Someone who you believe has taken an overdose or swallowed something poisonous
   Yes, one of theseNo, none of these
2. 2

   Is any of this happening?

   Be seen today

   If you already have a diagnosed defect, contact your heart team sooner than planned if symptoms are new or becoming more noticeable.

   Seek urgent medical care for:

   • Sudden or marked worsening of breathing
   • New fainting or severe weakness
   • A sustained racing or irregular heartbeat with dizziness
   • New swelling with breathlessness
   • Fever with unexplained illness in someone at increased endocarditis risk

   And for anyone, someone who:

   • is getting rapidly more short of breath, or has gained several pounds in a few days with swelling
   Yes, one of theseNo, none of these
3. 3

   Does any of this apply?

   Book an appointment

   Arrange a routine medical appointment if you or your child has ongoing breathlessness, tiring during feeds or activity, poor weight gain, repeated faint feelings, swelling, or episodes of a fast or irregular heartbeat.

   These symptoms need assessment but do not necessarily mean there is a heart defect.

   Routine follow-up remains important even when there are no symptoms.

   Yes, one of theseNo, none of these

Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Hole in the heart. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.