[Formula: see text] Trajectories of neurodevelopment and opportunities for intervention across the lifespan in congenital heart disease.

Abstract

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental challenges across the lifespan. These are associated with neurological changes and potential acquired brain injury, which occur across a developmental trajectory and which are influenced by an array of medical, sociodemographic, environmental, and personal factors. These alterations to brain development lead to an array of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, which impact a characteristic set of skills over the course of development. The current paper reviews existing knowledge of aberrant brain development and brain injury alongside associated neurodevelopmental challenges across the lifespan. These provide a framework for discussion of emerging and potential interventions to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes at each developmental stage.