Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Government officials throughout the world have proclaimed February 7th–14th as “Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week”.

The photo above shows Chandlar, from Enid, with the proclamation. Chandlar was born with several defects and is awaiting his third surgery.

To mark this important occasion, an international coalition of families, individuals, non-profit organizations, support groups, and health professionals participate in a campaign to increase public awareness of Congenital Heart Defects and Childhood Heart Disease. By sharing our experiences and providing information to the public, they hope to raise awareness about conditions that affect approximately 40,000 babies each year in the United States.

It is their sincere hope that efforts to educate the public will result in additional funding for support and educational services, scientific research, and improved quality of care for children and adults.

The Facts

• It is estimated that 40,000 babies are born each year with Congenital Heart Defects in the United States alone.
• CHD is the most frequently occurring birth defect and is a leading cause of birth-defect related deaths worldwide.
• Some CHDs may not require treatment, other than periodic visits to a Pediatric Cardiologist. Others can be treated with medications or repaired with surgery and/or procedures. Complex defects may require several surgeries and are never really cured.
• Although some babies will be diagnosed at birth, sometimes the diagnosis is not made until days, weeks, months, or even years after. In some cases, CHDs are not detected until adolescence or adulthood.
• Many cases of Sudden Cardiac Death in young athletes are caused by undiagnosed CHDs and Childhood Onset Heart Disease.

Despite these statistics, newborns and teen-aged athletes are NOT routinely screened for Congenital Heart Defects and a disproportionately small amount of funding is available for research and support.

Learn more and help support the Congenital Heart Information Network by visiting their website and downloading a brochure. Also help promote awareness of CHD by purchasing and wearing their awareness pin! Order form in brochure below.

CHD-HD-Brochure