Congenital Heart Defects

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

A congenital heart defect is a problem with the structure of the heart. It is present at birth. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect. The defects can involve the walls of the heart, the valves of the heart, and the arteries and veins near the heart. They can disrupt the normal flow of blood through the heart. The blood flow can slow down, go in the wrong direction or to the wrong place, or be blocked completely.

Doctors use a physical exam and special heart tests to diagnose congenital heart defects. They often find severe defects during pregnancy or soon after birth. Signs and symptoms of severe defects in newborns include

• Rapid breathing
• Cyanosis - a bluish tint to the skin, lips, and fingernails
• Fatigue
• Poor blood circulation

Many congenital heart defects cause few or no signs and symptoms. They are often not diagnosed until children are older.

Many children with congenital heart defects don't need treatment, but others do. Treatment can include medicines, catheter procedures, surgery, and heart transplants. The treatment depends on the type of the defect, how severe it is, and a child's age, size, and general health.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• About Congenital Heart Defects (American Heart Association)
• Congenital Heart Defects and CCHD (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
• Facts about Congenital Heart Defects (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Tricuspid Atresia (Nemours Foundation)
• What Are Congenital Heart Defects? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pulse Oximetry (American Thoracic Society) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease in Newborns (American Heart Association)

Treatments and Therapies

• Therapeutic Cardiac Catheterizations for Children with Congenital Heart Disease (American Heart Association) - PDF
• What Is a Heart Transplant? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Living With

• Care and Treatment for Congenital Heart Defects (American Heart Association)
• Challenges Faced by Parents of Children with Congenital Heart Disease (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Feeding Tips for Your Baby with CHD (American Heart Association)
• Living with a Congenital Heart Defect (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Congenital Heart Defects and Physical Activity (American Heart Association)
• Heart Murmurs and Your Child (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Infective Endocarditis (American Heart Association)
• What Is a Heart Murmur? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Specifics

• Aortic Valve Stenosis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Atrioventricular Canal Defect (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Coarctation of the Aorta (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (CCTGA) (Adult Congenital Heart Association)
• Coronary Artery Anomalies (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Cyanosis (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Double Outlet Right Ventricle (Texas Heart Institute)
• Facts about Atrial Septal Defect (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Coarctation of the Aorta (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries (d-TGA) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Pulmonary Atresia (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Tetralogy of Fallot (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return or TAPVR (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Truncus Arteriosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Ventricular Septal Defect (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Learning about Velocardiofacial Syndrome (National Human Genome Research Institute)
• Noonan Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
• Patent Foramen Ovale (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Pulmonary Atresia (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Valve Stenosis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Single Ventricle Defects (American Heart Association)
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) (Society of Thoracic Surgeons)
• Tricuspid Atresia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Genetics

• 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Alagille syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Cantú syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Char syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• CHARGE syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• critical congenital heart disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetic Counseling for Congenital Heart Defects (American Heart Association)
• Holt-Oram syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• McKusick-Kaufman syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• MED13L syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Noonan syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• oculofaciocardiodental syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• recombinant 8 syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• supravalvular aortic stenosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Timothy syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Data and Statistics on Congenital Heart Defects (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - In English and Spanish
• Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics (American Heart Association)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Defects, Congenital (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Murmurs (National Institutes of Health)

Reference Desk

• Heart and Stroke Encyclopedia (American Heart Association)
• How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
• Atrial Septal Defect (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
• Congenital Heart Defects (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
• Heart Murmurs (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Ventricular Septal Defect (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• What Is a Pediatric Heart Surgeon? (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Atrial Septal Defect (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)
• Coarctation of the Aorta (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Ventricular Septal Defect (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• CHD's Impact on Females (American Heart Association)
• Heart Conditions and Pregnancy: Know the Risks (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Atrial septal defect (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bicuspid aortic valve (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Congenital heart defect corrective surgeries (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Congenital heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cyanotic heart disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Dextrocardia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Echocardiogram -- children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Heart murmurs and other sounds (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Patent ductus arteriosus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ventricular septal defect (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish