Attention and Activity in Kids with Heart Defects

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. People with ADHD start having symptoms in childhood, and the symptoms often last into adulthood.

ADHD can be divided into 3 types:

1. Primarily Inattentive: the person has trouble focusing attention, sustaining attention over time, and ignoring distractions

2. Primarily Hyperactive-Impulsive: the person has trouble staying still, and often acts without fully thinking through the consequences of their actions

3. Combined: the person has symptoms of both of the other subtypes: they have trouble focusing, are easily distracted, have a high activity level, and are often impulsive

People with heart defects can have any subtype of ADHD.

Everybody has variations in their activity and attention. People with ADHD, however, have significantly higher activity levels and/or lower attention than others their age.

Signs or symptoms of ADHD could include:

• constant movement

• inability to sit still when it is expected

• often interrupting or blurting out responses

• being unable to stay quiet when expected

• trouble focus on something that requires effort

• trouble sustaining attention over time

• excessive distractibility

• not listening when spoken to

• trouble shifting attention from one task to another

• periods of hyper-focus

• daydreaming, or seeming lost in their own thoughts

• many careless mistakes

• acting without thinking, or without regard to the consequences

• trouble with waiting

• poor regulation of emotion

Most children show at least some of these signs and symptoms at times during development. People with ADHD, however, show these signs and symptoms more often than their peers, and without any other explanation for them.

If people believe that they or their child are showing symptoms of ADHD, they should contact their general pediatrician or primary care physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist, developmental-behavior pediatrician, or cardiac neurodevelopmental care team.

Any of these experts can assess for, and potentially diagnose, ADHD. The diagnosis process often includes structured conversations or interviews, questionnaires, and/or tests given to a child.

Without intervention, people with ADHD can struggle with low academic achievement, social problems, and risky behavior.

With intervention, however, people with ADHD usually thrive.

If you believe you or your child has ADHD, waiting is usually unhelpful. Early diagnosis and appropriate intervention give most people the best chance of an optimal outcome.

This content was reviewed by a psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital in February, 2024.

Developmental care is best when it is local. Families local to Boston can receive care from the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program (CNP). Families from other regions can use the link below to find their local care team.