Congenital Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death from Birth Defects

Congenital Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death from Birth Defects (February 3, 2011) Congenital heart disease, the most common form of birth defect, is also the leading cause of death in infants affecting about nine in every 1,000 children. Congenital heart disease is a defect or malformation in the structure of the cardiovascular and great vessels which is present at delivery. It is either caused by an obstruction in the heart or vessels near it, or an abnormal pattern of blood flow through the heart. Joel Brenner, Chief Pediatric Cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, said that a timely diagnosis can help alter the difference between life and death in the most severe cases. Some heart defects are detected before delivery during fetal ultrasounds and some shortly after, while in other cases, the heart defects are not diagnosed until several months or several years old.  However, with these rare cases, the damage caused by the defect was already severe before the symptoms became detectable. Professional conditioning care providers who specialize in heart-related issues explained parental watchfulness is critical in helping medical doctors make a timely diagnosis. Professionals claimed there are times when fetal ultrasounds are notoriously unreliable, picking up less than 20 percent of all heart defects. Usually, these are the ones that cause a discrepancy in the size of the heart’s 4 chambers making them the easiest to detect. On the other hand, some researchers said these birth defects can often be prevented with appropriate monitoring and treatment. In some cases, the mother’s history can include factors that make the pregnancy or delivery high-risk. In other cases, there are signs the unborn baby is not developing in a healthy manner or is in fetal distress. In general, time is always of the essence. Those suffering from a related case must contact a competent attorney immediately to determine whether the treatment provided was below the standard of care or the prescribed drug caused the disease.

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