Diet limitations for children with HLHS

My grandson is 2yrs old, he was born with HLHS, had the Norwood Procedure at 3 days old, and the Glenn at 5 months.  He is doing great, no meds other than aspirin daily.  Are there any food limitations that we should be concerned with?  Physical limitations?  He does not have a pacemaker, sleeps all night, and is very active, yet he seems too thin.

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear Stefrod,

Without evaluating him, I cannot say whether he is truly underweight, or not.  This is something that would have to be discussed with his pediatrician.  There aren't food limitations, per se, although he should eat relatively healthy foods.  We do see patients with congenital heart defects have about the same rate of obesity as in the general public, although the single ventricle patients do have less overall obesity.  There are many factors that go into the size of the child, including the size of the parents.  If they are relatively slim, then he may be, as well.

He also has no physical limitations at this point.  At this age, children are very good about self-limitation, so I would not stop his activity.  I would say that he should avoid prolonged exposure to altitudes greater than 7500 feet, though.