Congenital Heart Defects

Congenital Heart Defects, also referred to as CHDs, are problems with the structure of the heart since birth. “Congenital” means “since birth” – meaning that CHDs are not acquired later in life. Some common CHDs are a hole in the heart, leaky valves or malformed heart chambers, but there are a whole range of them. All of them affect the function of the heart, in different ways.

#1 most common birth defect in the world
Globally, every 1 in 100 babies are affected
5,000 babies are born every year with a heart defect in Malaysia
33% of babies with CHD will require surgery at least once – in Malaysia, that is 3,000 babies every year.
25% of children born with a heart defect will need surgery before their first birthday.
Congenital heart defects are the #1 cause of death due to birth defects worldwide.

Causes

In the majority of cases, the cause of CHD is unknown. Some risk factors have been identified, such as getting a Rubella infection while pregnant or consuming certain medications during pregnancy. At least 15% of CHDs are associated with genetic conditions, with the most common being Down Syndrome. Yet, the cause of CHD is still largely unknown.

Types

There are many different types of CHD. They can occur alone (‘isolated’), or more than one defect can occur together, such as Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a combination of four different defects. The most common type of CHD is a ventricular septal defect (VSD), where there is a hole in the wall separating the lower two chambers of the heart.

Critical CHD

Some CHDs are classified as a ‘critical CHD’. These refer to a group of defects that require surgical intervention before the first year of life. Every 1 in 4 babies with a CHD will be born with a ‘critical CHD’.