Credits Hours: 1.00

Course Description:
Children with congenital heart defects live longer, more productive lives thanks to advances in heart surgery over the past 30 years. Many of those children are today's adults. Research has not been fully able to analyze the long-term results of congenital heart defect surgery, but early indicators suggest there may be a higher incidence of sudden death and significant emergent cardiac arrhythmias among the congenital heart defect cohort. Increased awareness of the patient care challenges is needed as prehospital care providers are called on to treat survivors of congenital heart defects in the future. This course will describe the different types of congenital heart disorders that either send too much blood to the lungs or too little blood to the lungs or body. It includes information on assessing patients in the prehospital setting and provides guidance on types of treatment recommended for these emergencies.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Identify cardiovascular disorders that allow too much blood to enter the lungs.
• Identify cardiovascular disorders that restrict blood flow to the lungs.
• Identify cardiovascular disorders that restrict blood flow to the body.
• Analyze signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects and select the appropriate treatment regime for pediatric cardiovascular emergencies.