Congenital Heart Defects

A congenital heart defect (CHD) is a structural defect of the heart or the great vessels by birth, which severely affects cardiac function [1]. CHDs are the commonest form of abnormalities seen in newborn babies, affecting 1 in 145 live births (British Heart Foundation). The most common CHD is a ventricular septal defect (VSD), which occurs to varying degrees in around 3570 per million live births (around 3.5/1000). Small VSDs, along with atrial septal defects (ASDs) and small patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) are considered the least severe CHDs, and usually close naturally or do not cause problems to the patient [2]. The most severe CHDs include double outlet right ventricle (DORV), persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA), transposition of the great arteries (TGA), tetralogy of fallot (TOF), atrioventricular septal defects (AVSDs), and large VSDs. These occur collectively at a rate of around 2.5-3 per 1000 live births and cause patients to become seriously ill within the immediate postnatal period, or soon after [2].