Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week Feb 7-14

We know all our fellow heart families are blogging about this.
It is CHD Awareness Week, and since we are a family affected by this, we want to bring awareness and support to congenital heart defects. We recognize if it weren't for the efforts of others before us, we wouldn't be where we are today with our daughter.

To kick off this week, we are just listing some facts about CHD taken from www.itsmyheart.org

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect. Source: March of Dimes

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. Source: March of Dimes
About 1 out of every 100 babies are born each year with some type of Congenital Heart Defect. (approx. 40,000/year) Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

Nearly twice as many children die from Congenital Heart Defects in the United States each year as from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

The American Heart Association directs only $0.30 of every dollar donated toward research.
The remainder goes toward administration, education and fundraising efforts. Of the $0.30 that goes toward research only $0.01 goes toward pediatric cardiology for CHD. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

This year approximately 4,000 babies will not live to see their first birthday because of Congenital Heart Defects. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

The cost for inpatient surgery to repair Congenital Heart Defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward Congenital Heart Defect research. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation

Though research is ongoing, at least 35 defects have now been identified.
4-8% born with CHD have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
4-10% born with CHD have Atrioventricular Septal Defects
8-11% born with CHD have Coarctation of the Aorta
9-14% born with CHD have Tetralogy of Fallot
10-11% born with CHD have Transposition of the Great Arteries
14-16% born with CHD have Ventricular Septal Defects

Although some babies will be diagnosed during gestation or at birth, sometimes the diagnosis is not made until days, weeks, months, or even years after. In some cases, CHD is not detected until adolescence or adulthood. Source: March of Dimes

It is a proven fact that the earlier CHD is detected and treated, it is more likely the affected child will survive and have less long term health complications. Source: March of Dimes

(If anyone has additional facts, please wrtie it in the comment box and list your source. Thank you)

We appreciate all of you for being apart of this and spreading the word. The more attention CHD's can get, there is more potential for funding and research that can go into saving our children's lives.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.