Get the Facts About Congenital Heart Disease
Many people think of heart problems as conditions that only affect adults. But the fact is, 1 out of every 120 babies in the United States is born with heart disease. That makes congenital heart disease the most common type of birth defect.
- Congenital heart disease (CHD) occurs during the early stages of a mother’s pregnancy, when her baby’s heart is forming
- Conditions classified as congenital heart disease include abnormalities in the heart’s structure or the heart’s electrical system
- Congenital heart disease is approximately 60 times more prevalent than childhood cancer
- Congenital heart disease affects approximately 40,000 babies born in the United States each year, making it the most common type of birth defect
- Congenital heart disease is the cause of nearly one-third of the birth defect-related deaths of infants
- Approximately 1.4 million children and adults in the United States are living with congenital heart defects today
- Genetic or chromosomal abnormalities cause some heart defects. Other risk factors include maternal smoking (during pregnancy), maternal obesity, maternal diabetes and maternal infections such as rubella
- Children with heart defects are often at lifelong risk for other medical problems and cognitive or developmental complications
- Caring for children with heart defects is a challenging and complex endeavor that causes emotional and financial stress for families, and requires many hospital resources
Share our congenital heart disease infographic
Check out our CHD infographic for more facts
about pediatric heart disease — then share it with your friends and family. Raising awareness about CHD helps to advance research, improve care and make new lifesaving treatments possible for kids with heart disease.
