Congenital Heart Disease

Introduction

Congenital heart disease or, congenital heart defects, are various malformations of the heart or its major blood vessels present at the time of birth. Congenital heart defects occur when - the interior walls of the heart, valves inside the heart, or arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart or to the body, - do not develop properly prior to birth of a child or after the birth of child.

The defects range from simple to very complex with life threatening symptoms. There are 22 types of congenital heart defects. The most common congenital heart defects requiring medical intervention are Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) (14 to 16 percent), tetralogy of fallot (9 to 14 percent), transposition of the great arteries (10 to 11 percent) and coarctation of the aorta (8 to 11 percent).

Worldwide, about 8 in every 1000 children are born with a congenital heart disease and in the US, 35,000 children are born annually with a congenital heart defect. About 1 million adults in the US are living with the disease and about a quarter of fatalities due to congenital heart defects occur in the first month of life. Advances in diagnostic procedures and surgical treatments have led to an increase in the survival rate of children with serious heart defects. Almost all are able to lead an active and productive life, but it is important to note that many patients continue to need special care throughout their life. (1,24,25,28).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com

Diagram of the human heart showing major features and direction of blood flow.

Location of heart in relation to chest.

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