Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week, February 7-14, is a time to recognize children born with cardiac irregularities and highlight the treatments and advancements that have allowed these babies to survive and thrive.

Facts about congenital heart defects

• Congenital means existing at birth.
• A congenital heart defect results when the heart, or blood vessels near the heart, don’t develop normally.
• More than 1 million babies worldwide are born each year with a congenital heart defect.
• It’s the most common birth defect, and the most common cause of infant death among birth defects.

What we offer at CHKD

• The CHKD Heart Center treats a full spectrum of congenital and acquired cardiac disorders.
• Our patients range in age from newborns diagnosed before birth to adults living with congenital heart disease. These patients make 12,000 visits a year to our center.
• Our center is part of a regional collaborative with the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital. Pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, intensive care physicians, and cardiac support professionals from both institutions work together to improve outcomes for children with complex congenital heart defects.

Signs and symptoms

• Severe heart problems generally become evident during the first few months of life. Some babies are blue or have very low blood pressure shortly after birth. Other defects cause breathing difficulties, feeding problems, or poor weight gain.
• Minor defects are most often diagnosed during a routine medical checkup and rarely cause symptoms. If the heart problem is significant, your child’s pediatrician will likely refer your child to a CHKD pediatric cardiologist. Our pediatric cardiologists are trained to diagnose and treat heart problems in infants, children, and young adults. They have the expertise to determine what tests and treatments your child will need and the specialized equipment to provide this care. They will also determine how often your child will need heart checkups in the future.

Improvements that have increased survival rates and life expectancy

• Advances in surgical technique.
• Development of improved intensive care management.
• High-resolution imaging.
• Devices and treatments delivered through cardiac catheterization to repair defects and replace valves in less invasive ways than open-heart surgery.

For more information on CHKD’s Heart Center, visit us online at CHKD.org/Heart.

About CHKD

Get pediatric health news, health tips, and more from the region's most trusted name in pediatric healthcare. Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters is a network of pediatric healthcare services in more than 40 locations that stretch from Williamsburg to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and Virginia's only comprehensive freestanding pediatric hospital. Meet our doctors here.