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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your child has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, it means he or she was born with a problem in the heart's formation. You may be anxious and worried about your child's immediate and long-term health. Knowing about your child's congenital heart defect can help you understand his or her condition and what to expect in the coming months.
Some congenital heart defects are as simple as a small hole between heart chambers that closes on its own. Other congenital heart defects are more complex and may require several surgeries performed over a period of several years.
- Congenital heart defects. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/chd/chd_all.html. Accessed Sept. 8, 2008.
- Congenital heart defects in children fact sheet. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=12012. Accessed Sept. 8, 2008.
- Diabetes and pregnancy frequently asked questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/bd/diabetespregnancyfaqs.htm#whatcanhappentoababy. Accessed Sept. 18, 2008.
