CHD-UK

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Educating, Advocating and Raising Awareness of Congenital Heart Defects (CHD's).

Anyone who has or knows someone affected by a CHD is welcome, as is anyone who doesn't but would like to show their support and/or find out more about this defect. It is not solely for the UK as I would like to help as many people as possible. It affects people all around the world.

Congenital Heart Defects, also known as CHD's are the #1 birth defect in UK affecting 8/1000 live births, this does not count all the children lost in pregnancy to CHD's (1)

There are 35 medically recognised CHD's. List of CHD's which includes associated CHD's

CHD's are the #1 cause of DEATH from a birth defect, killing twice as many children as cancer every year.

Congenital Heart Defects are not always found during pregnancy or at birth, many are not found till childhood, adolescence, adulthood, or after death when it is to late.

Many Dr's believe that CHD's are genetic, although most people know nothing of Heart Defects till they have a child born with one.

New studies are showing that Painkillers and Antidepressants taking before and during pregnancy can raise the risk of having a CHD child.

CHD's can not be cured, the heart must be monitored throughout life. Most will need multiple open heart surgeries, some may even need a heart transplant.

Babies born with CHD's may need their first open heart surgery at just a few hours or days old.

It has been estimated thatt there are currently 250,000 adults with CHD in the UK, approximately 1,000,000 in the US and similar numbers in proportional terms in Europe and the rest of the world. (2)

If you don't know someone with a CHD sooner or later you will !

Our aims are to educate and raise awareness as well as promoting the need for testing prior to birth. Also, the media needs to get more interested in what it means to be born with a CHD and inform the general public more about it. Just imagine that you work with people every day and never noticed that they have a heart defect or went through major surgery. You wouldn't know just by looking at the person. CHD is not visible, our scars are hidden.

References:

(1) Dr vonder muhill is a joint Royal Brompton-University of Toronto fellow in Adult Congenital Heart Disease/Defect.

(2) Webb GD and Williams RG (2001) 32nd Bethesda Conference: care of the adult with congenital heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 37: 1161-1198

http://www.congenital-heart-defects.co.uk