You are Not Alone
How do you feel when you are given the worst news of your life? What if that news is that your unborn child’s heart isn’t growing correctly and your child will probably need life-saving open-heart...
View ArticlePost Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Survivor’s Guilt in the...
It only seems natural that people who have survived extremely stressful situations should have some kind of backlash to endure. How do members of the congenital heart defect community deal with the...
View ArticleOrgan Donation and Transplantation
Every ten minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list. More than 120,000 men, women and children currently need lifesaving organ transplants. The United Network for...
View ArticleSiblings in the Congenital Heart Defect Community
Having a chronically ill child in the family has an impact on the whole family, including healthy siblings. According to the World Facts and Statistics on Disabilities and Disability Issues, about 10%...
View ArticleGenetics in Congenital Heart Defect Community
Congenital heart defects, the #1 birth defect, affect at least 1 in 100 babies born throughout the world yet when asked what causes heart defects, most doctors have had to admit they don’t really know....
View ArticleCora’s Law and Why It’s Important
Although congenital heart defects are the number one birth defect, typically newborns have not been screened for heart defects before leaving the hospital. This has tragically led to some newborns...
View ArticleSnowflakes: How Each Heart Is Unique
Today’s episode is called “Snowflakes: How Each Heart is Unique.” The heart is an extremely complicated organ. The muscle on one side of the heart differs from the muscle on the other side of the...
View ArticleLosing a Child to a Congenital Heart Defect
“Losing a Child to a Congenital Heart Defect.” is an extremely emotional show, and it doesn’t have the happy outcome we’d love for all of our shows to have, but I believe it’s an extremely important...
View ArticleSurviving the Teenage Years with a Congenital Heart Defect
Thanks to advances in medical science, 90% of the babies born today with a congenital heart defect or CHD will live to adulthood. That means 90% of today’s babies will someday be teenagers. For the...
View ArticleSports and ExtraCurricular Activities for Congenital Heart Defects Survivors
What kind of quality of life can survivors of critical congenital heart defects or CCHDs have regarding sports and hobbies? About 25% of CHDs are considered CCHDs. Children with CCHDs need surgery or...
View ArticleHow Parents Relationships are Affected by Having a Child with a Congenital...
According to the American Psychological Association “Marriage and divorce are both common experiences. In Western cultures, more than 90% of people marry by age 50. Healthy marriages are good for...
View ArticleNonCardiac Health Issues for Survivors with Complex Congenital Heart Defects
There are over one million adults alive with a congenital heart defect or CHD. Many surgeries performed on survivors are corrective but not curative. The non-cardiac health issues that seem to appear...
View ArticleWhat is Normal Child Development in Children with Complex Congenital Heart...
With more children with complex, congenital heart defects, or CHDs, living beyond their first of year of life than ever before, parents and the professionals working with those children need to know...
View ArticleCongenital Heart Defect Advocacy
Congenital Heart Defect (or CHD) Awareness is an extremely important issue. Congenital heart defects (heart defects present at birth) are the #1 Birth Defect. While a commonly reported statistic is 1...
View ArticleLearning Disabilities and Possible Brain Injury in Children with Congenital...
Babies who have had open-heart surgery, especially those with complex, congenital heart defects (CCHDs), are at much greater risk for brain injury or learning disabilities. Because of the heart defects...
View ArticleSpecial Encore Presentation: Genetics in Congenital Heart Defect Community
Congenital heart defects, the #1 birth defect, affect at least 1 in 100 babies born throughout the world yet when asked what causes heart defects, most doctors have had to admit they don’t really know....
View ArticleSpecial Encore Presentation: Coras Law and Why Its Important
Although congenital heart defects are the number one birth defect, typically newborns have not been screened for heart defects before leaving the hospital. This has tragically led to some newborns...
View ArticleSpecial Encore Presentation: You are Not Alone
How do you feel when you are given the worst news of your life? What if that news is that your unborn child’s heart isn’t growing correctly and your child will probably need life-saving open-heart...
View ArticleYou are Not Alone
How do you feel when you are given the worst news of your life? What if that news is that your unborn child’s heart isn’t growing correctly and your child will probably need life-saving open-heart...
View ArticlePost Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Survivor’s Guilt in the...
It only seems natural that people who have survived extremely stressful situations should have some kind of backlash to endure. How do members of the congenital heart defect community deal with the...
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