Congenital Heart Defect

Congenital heart defects are the most common kind of fatal birth defect in newborns and affect 1 out of every 120 live births.

Approximately 35,000 babies are born with some form of a heart defect every year and more babies will die during their first year of life from a heart defect than any other reason. The heart begins forming and developing very early in fetal development, usually before a woman realizes that she has conceived.

A congenital heart defect is a problem within the heart that is present at birth. Congenital heart defects occur early on in pregnancy when the heart is forming. A heart defect can sometimes be diagnosed on a prenatal ultrasound. However, some children are not diagnosed with it until other symptoms arise.

Treatment involves medication and surgery.

Comments: Congenital-Heart-Defect
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ashley.mace5@yahoo.com - 31 days ago.
Hello all my son was born on 9-10-11. We was expecting a healthy baby boy but after he was born we noticed his left rib cage was deformed. After a week a Childrens hospital in Columbus. He had been diagnosed with dextrocardia (where his heart is on the wrong side and flipped).We also found out that his left diaphragm is paralyzed. When I was pregnant no one caught on to any of his defects until after he was born I am glad to say that he is now almost two years old and he is a happy and healthy boy. You can't even tell there is anything wrong with him.

emmasmummy - 296 days ago.
TAUSSIG-BING SYNDROME Hi, my little man due in Niv has the above rare heart defect, basically the lower chambers if his heart have no separation and his Aorta and Pulminatry Artery are doing the opposite job from what they should be, so oxygenated blood goes to where the non-oxygenated blood needs to go ie.Lungs and non-oxygenated blood goes to where the oxygenated blood needs to go ie, everywhere else!! But because there is no depredation in the lower chambers of his heart it's us hopes that the blood will mix and he will cope with the circulation he has until he has Major Open Heart Surgery at hopefully 8 weeks (if he doesn't get too sick before hand) ANYWAY........ Ive found that because this issue is so rare that there are not alot of people to talk to about it (outwith doctors and nurses) SO........... I'm offering my services to anyone who needs info or just a chat............ ......... All going well, this little man has a 95% survival rate with all the new surgical techniques avail......... Keep your fingers crossed xxxxxx You can contact me on gillmcn2002@yahoo.com if you don't want to chat on here :-) GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! X

spidermansmama - 328 days ago.
please check out Socks 4 Surgery www.socks4surgery.com My son was born with a congiental birth defect, and i design speciality baby socks. please check out the sale album on Facebook!! Socks 4 Surgery

AshLaney - 647 days ago.
I was just at my doctors and had an ultrasound done. The dr believes the baby CHF. Has anyone else been through this?

Dtcakes77@yahoo.com - 840 days ago.
Hey everyone. This is my first message on this site, although i was on here with my first pregnancy. I am now 21 weeks pregnant and just found out i am having a boy who has a congenital heart defect called Coartation of the aorta. My husband and i are so nervous about this. I am trying to stay positive and optimistic about it all but its hard. The doctor who made the discovery and sent us for a fetal ekg suggested i have an amnio and go to genetic counseling just to rule out any chromosone disorders that are associated with it. I took the ultrascreen at 11 weeks to test for down syndrome and that came back normal, but there are other syndromes associated with it that only an amnio could detect. I am torn about this becase the cardiologist is very optimistic about it being a isolated case and hasn't found any other heart effects that can be associated with COA. Has anyone else gone through an amnio? Do you think it is worth doing because either way i wouldn't terminate the pregnancy and deal with whatever comes my way. I just needed to vent , thanks for taking the time to read this

angelina987 - 865 days ago.
Hi all, I am pregnant of 34 weeks.Through fetel management test we come to know as baby is having AV canal defect(AVSD).My doctor is suggesting as we should have to go for surgery at the baby's age of 6 weeks to 3 months.I am bothered about the small baby can be affordable for that surgery.Any body is having the knowledge regarding the AV CANAL DEFECT.Please share your comments.

heatherandwillsbaby - 974 days ago.
i'm concerned about my baby's heart 'cause they saw a 'marker' on his heart. doc says it should go away but i'm not so convinced. it still COULD mean something is wrong, so i've been told from other people.

deweyswifey - 975 days ago.
My Child had Transposition of the Great Arteries & underwent surgery when he was exaclty one week old. Hes 2 months now & doing great.. But has anyone else been through this or is about to go through it??

ninniebaby3 - 981 days ago.
good news i got the all clear on the babies heart today.

ninniebaby3 - 994 days ago.
MommyofbobbynJanbaby im sorry about your doughter. i hope everythig works out for you. i had the ultrasound and the tech said she could see all 4 chambers of the heart this time but than said she could not see the left ventricle. i now have to go back on the 8th to get another ultrasound done so she can look for it again. i dont know what to think the tech said it could have been that my little one was just in the way and would not let her see what she needed to see. so now i have no idea still if everything is ok or not. i hope that it is just the case that she was unable to see before and hope that when i go back that it will be there and i can put this whole thing behind me.

MommyofbobbynJanbaby - 995 days ago.
Ninniebaby3- Yes, I had to have one done last week. My daughter may possibly have Transposition of the Great Arteries which is where the blood tubes that carry the red and blue blood are switched and VSD which is a hole in the heart. I go in for an echo on the 7th and will be closely watched by ultrasounds. I have been doing some massive research about it and have found that she can live a normal life, just will have to have surgery to reverse the tubes and fix the hole, if this Is what she has, when she is born. I hope that everything went well for you and baby at your ultrasound.

ninniebaby3 - 998 days ago.
well i am 20 weeks pregnant and i have to go for a hi def u/s tomorrow becouse they doctor thinks there might be something wrong with my babies heart. they keep telling me that they can not see all 4 chambers of the heart. they have been trying every week sence i was 17 weeks. i am starting to get a little worried now that they are sending me for some more tests. but they are not really telling me what it all means. has any one else has this?

tinkerbear - 1055 days ago.
hi there... I just recently went for a follow up ultrasound and found out that my son had a heart condition. After being rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philly, it was determined that my unborn son, Wyatt, had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which was causing him to have hydrops. We determined that since I was only 28 weeks, that a fetal intervention was necessary to relieve some of the pressure from the left side of the heart, to allow for the right side to beat correctly (this would help reduce the hydrops). After several echocardiograms and tests, the surgery was preformed on 6/4/2010, I was 29 weeks and 1 day. The surgery started at 8:00a and the doctors had to pull out at 12:00pm, as Wyatt's heart began to slow. At 12:28p, during an ultrasound, it was determined that Wyatt's fight had ended. On 6/6/2010, (my birthday), I delivered my angel. I had never heard of HLHS. Throughout my pregnancy I was more concerned with cleft palate, down syndrome, or something from the IVF, I never thought about a heart condition. For any of you with children that have a heart condition, or anyone expecting a child with a heart condition, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.

lovelylady - 1060 days ago.
To all that are going to have babies born with heart defects. I have a daughter who is now 12 years old. She was born with VSD, coarctation of the aorta, transposition of the great vessels, tetralogy of fallot, & hypoplastic right heart syndrome. You guys are lucky that your babies have been diagnosed before birth. I took my daughter home for two week thinking she was healthy. When she refused to eat and cried constantly I finally took her to the ER where she was misdiagnosed with double pnemonia. Her heart stop twice before they flew her to a childrens hospital and she was diagnosed as having several heart defects. My daughter had her first surgery at two weeks old and has had a total of seven. Her last was when she was five years old. She will need another surgery in the future so that she can receive and adult donor valve bc she will eventually out grow her current donar valve. If you look at her you would not be able to tell she had had surgery besides her scar. The only medication she has been on is a BP med and she has been on the same dose since age 5. My advice to all would be to pray, have faith and lots of family support. Especially if you have other children bc you will need it. Children of a certain age are not allowed to vist. Do plenty of research on the condition, and hospital. Always ask questions and never be afraid to ask for a nurse or doctor to leave bc you will run into some incompetent pple. Dont spend lot of money on hotels you your local Ronald McDonald house or any services avaliable for free housing. Contact the hospital social worker for free food vouchers and about housing. Expect the unexpected. Pack plent of clothes and take care of your self. You cant be there for baby if you are ill. Make sure everyone who enters the room wash their hands including staff! Our stays were extended several times due to virus she caught from others in the hospital. Good Luck my prayers are with you. Feel Free to e-mail if you need to talk.

nina1987 - 1061 days ago.
Today my brother should be turning 7 unfortunatly he died from double right ventrclur hypoplastic left heart and other abnormalities. I just wanted to say to any one going through this awful situation things keep fighting for your babies and al you little brave heart heros keep fighting for your family show them how amazing and strong you are x RIP Ben missing you lots loving you loads xx

RobinG - 1093 days ago.
Does anyone here have or have a child with a single right coronary artery? Desperate to find others with this. My 14 yr old has it and his heart catherization showed that he has the variaton that is life threatening. The left artery arises from the right and goes between the great arteries. Because it is not common and often found after it is to late (athletes that die suddenly) or when symptomatic there is limited info on it. No data to show how many have it and are living a healthy life without concerns. Bypass is the treatment. They are doing a stress test in two weeks. Cant find anyone online with it to chat with ~ TX so much!!

samsmomma - 1111 days ago.
Hello Ladies.. well I'm 13 weeks away from giving birth to my son that has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). I'm so mixed with emotions about it.. In one instance I can not wait to meet him and in the other I'm scared to death for the day to come- knowing he won't be 'ok'. I don't know if other mothers feel this way, but knowing that my child is going to be born with a major heart defect and only having a 75% chance of survival is so scary. I find it hard to want to get his room ready or buy him clothes. I have a 2 year old little girl and when I was pregant with her It was sooooooo different (obvi). at this stage of the game with her, everything was done and set up and just waited for the shower. this time i feel as though I don't want to get my hopes up. We are going to Childrens in Boston whicl-h is one of the best in the nation but im still scared :-/

RobinG - 1113 days ago.
((hugs)) My son has a VSD, but it was tiny. He is now 14 and they just watch it. The concern will depend on its size. Many who are born with tiny ones close on their own but those that are larger can have concerns and may require intervention if they dont close or are bigger. did they say the size of it?

CHANELJAY - 1142 days ago.
hi my baby was jus diagnosed with avsd iam 37 weeks an jus found out yesterday if anybody can give me information on their experience on this i will be happy to hear im aliitle concerned she might also have down syndrome is that possible?

stacie03 - 1280 days ago.
melanyng - I have a 2yr old DD who has TGA, we however did not know before hand that she had it, so we had to wait until she was 2 weeks old to have the surgery, normally they would do it with-in days of birth at our hosp. (UofM), Anyways surgery went great, and didn't take as long as they had told us it would, she had a little trouble gaining weight in the begining and needed a special formula (Portagen is what she was on I believe) she was on this for several weeks and then switched to breast milk we had stored, and then formula, she came home 10 days after surgery, we had a nurse visit 2 times a week and weekly appointments with our Pedi in the beginning. We saw are cardiologist every month, then every other, then every 6 months and were just cleared to be seen yearly. Today at 2yrs (next month) she is doing wonderfully, we have had no other complications with her heart and if you weren't aware of her condition you would never know. Sorry so long hope this helps you a little. :)

xxjavanaxx - 1327 days ago.
Hi everyone! My name is Javana, im 21 and pregnant with my first baby. Im having a little boy and his name is Jaden! Im jus full of so many emotions right now but i cant wait to meet my angel! My pregnancy as been really good. But around 30 weeks my boyfriend and i found out that our son has a heart defect called Atrioventricular (AV) Canal Defect. This heart defect is also very common with babies who have Down Syndrome! There is a 70% chance he will have it. WORDS COULDNT EVEN EXPLAIN HOW I FELT WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS I WAS NUMB FROM HEAD TO TOE! For the last few weeks i been so sad and hurting for my son but i know deep down in my heart he will be fine! I have a really wonderful OB/GYN and an excellent team Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors who have been watching my son and makin sure is okay and growin healthy! The good news is that my son is very strong nothing else is wrong with him. i mean nothing! All his other organs and body parts are 100% normal and he's also measuring just like a normal baby would! So that means my son may be normal with a heart defect without havin Down Syndrome! I was happy to hear that news so im keepin my fingers crossed! BUT EVEN IF MY SON DOES HAVE DOWN SYNDROME I WILL LOVE HIM JUST THE SAME BECUZ HE IS MY ANGEL AND IS A BLESSING! Also some other good news i will be able to have a vaginal birth plus i will be able to take my angel home wit me after he is born becuz he wont need any surgery till he's around 4-6 months and the surgery will completely correct his heart with a 95% success rate so im also thankful for that! GOD KNOWS I LOVE MY SON AND I WILL GIVE MY LIFE FOR HIM! HE IS THE BEST THING THATS EVER HAPPEN TO ME!

gempen - 1347 days ago.
I am 21 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child and have been told that my baby has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and Aortic Stenosis. As you can imagine I am scared out of my skin. Anyone have any advice? I would love to talk to someone who has been or is going through this.

melanyng - 1396 days ago.
Anyone have good outcomes with the switch procedure surgery thats necessary to fix transposition of the great vessels. Baby is still in my belly but I'm so worried as this is a new diagnosis just found out at my 35 week appt, I'm now 37 weeks. Also, were there any other illnesses or defects associated with the transposition?

skoehn - 1396 days ago.
Amandaduedec17- I lost my first baby to congenital heart defects. She was born with DS and had associated heart defects, but rather than the typical AV canal, she had 3 heart conditions. She died at 5 weeks old after complications of the Norwood procedure. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm now (unexpectedly) pregnant wtih number 2 and quite concerned.

AmandaDueDec17 - 1398 days ago.
sydbabe- I had my little boy in 05, he was born perfcetly healthy then in Jan 08 I gave birth to my little girl sydney who had AVSd/hypoplastic left heart syndrome, she passed away when he was 4 months old.. she had underwent open heart surgery when she was a month old to make her into a single ventricle baby...Im pregnant again and due in December with another boy who is completely healthy. So my middle child ended up with a heart problem as well. I don't think there is anything or anyway to explain it.. i racked my brain over and over but I guess heart defects just happen.