Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

This is CHD Awareness week, so I thought I would share a few facts about congenital heart defects:

• A CHD consists of an abnormality in the structure of the heart.
• Approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States each year with a CHD. This represents about 1 in every 115 births, making CHDs the most common birth defect in the United States.
• There are over 35 different types of CHDs and no cure for any of them.
• Sadly, thousands of the children born with CHDs each year will not make it to their first birthday. CHDs are the leading cause of all birth defect related deaths worldwide.
• Even after surgical repairs, most CHD patients are never really "fixed." Many CHD children, like Colby, will live the rest of their lives with only 1/2 of a heart.
• There is no known cause for most CHDs.
• Despite the fact that CHDs affect approximately 1.8 million families in the US, a relatively small amount of funding is currently available for parent/patient educational services, research, and support.