The Most Common Type of Birth Defect
Present at birth, congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common type of birth defect affecting approximately 40,000 infants in the United States each year. CHDs range from poorly formed blood vessels, missing heart chambers or holes inside the walls of the heart.
Unfortunately, the cause of most CHDs are unknown but 15-20% are caused by genetic conditions such as maternal conditions and environmental exposures such as diet or medication use. Infections, smoking and obesity during pregnancy can also increase the risk of CHDs in a child.
Survival of CHDs has increased significantly over the last few years allowing many babies to live into adulthood; however, many families run into issues with insurance or special care coverages and can’t receive the care needed or recommended.
You can help change this by raising awareness throughout your community so babies near you and all around the world can hopefully gain access to the heart care needed to save their lives.