ALL Babies Should Be Screened for Heart Defects

What is congenital heart disease (CHD)?Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect. Infants with CHD have abnormal structure to their heart which creates abnormal blood flow patterns. Approximately eight of every 1,000 infants born have a form of CHD. Some forms of CHD cause no or very few problems in the health, growth, and development of the baby. However, critical CHD can bring a significant risk of morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed soon after birth. Failing to detect critical CHD while in the newborn nursery may lead to critical events such as cardiogenic shock or death. Survivors who present late are at greater risk for neurologic injury and subsequent developmental delay.

What is pulse oximetry?Pulse oximetry (ox-eh-mah-tree), or “pulse ox,” is a simple, non-invasive and painless test that is used to measure the percent oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in the arterial blood and the pulse rate. Pulse ox was invented in the 1970’s and is now widely used and accepted in clinical care; it is often thought to be a basic vital sign.

How is pulse ox performed?
The pulse ox is placed by a sticky strip, like a band-aid™, with a small red light, or “probe,” on the baby’s hand or foot. The probe is attached to a wire, which is attached to a special monitor that shows the pulse ox reading. The pulse ox test takes just a few minutes to perform. You can help comfort your baby and keep him or her warm, calm, and quiet while the test is being performed.

Why is pulse oximetry used to screen for CHD?
Pulse ox is used to measure how much oxygen is in the blood. Pulse ox is a routinely used test that can be used to monitor an baby's oxygen level during a procedure or treatment. It can also be helpful in determining if an baby’s heart and lungs are healthy. Pulse ox can also help to identify babies with low levels of oxygen in their blood that may have serious heart problems. A doctor or nurse practitioner may ask for more testing such as an ultrasound of the heart, or echocardiogram (or “echo”) when a low pulse ox reading is identified. The echo will screen for a serious problem in the structure of the heart or the blood flow through the heart. Pulse ox can identify a baby with serious CHD before he or she leaves the newborn nursery.

Who should be screened?
All babies in the newborn nursery should be screened.

Information taken from http://www.childrensnational.org/PulseOx/FAQ.aspx

CHD Sweethearts!

In honor of CHD Awareness Week and American Heart Month, I wanted to share some of God's miracles with you! Believe me, they have a lot of "heart"- enjoy!!

Mr. Christian



Mr. Ian


Miss Caroline


Mr. Cameron


Mr. C.J.


Miss Abbygale


Mr. Joshua


Miss Avery



Mr. Cain


Miss Caylen


Miss Sydney


Miss Riley


Mr. Raef



Miss Lauren







Don't forget to keep them in your prayers! ♥

CHD Awareness Facts

February 7-14, 2011 is CHD Awareness Week!




•Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect. Source: March of Dimes
•Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. Source: March of Dimes
•About 1 out of every 100 babies are born each year with some type of Congenital Heart Defect. (approx. 40,000/year) Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•Nearly twice as many children die from Congenital Heart Defects in the United States each year as from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•The American Heart Association directs only $0.30 of every dollar donated toward research. The remainder goes toward administration, education and fundraising efforts. Of the $0.30 that goes toward research only $0.01 goes toward pediatric cardiology for CHD. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•This year approximately 4,000 babies will not live to see their first birthday because of Congenital Heart Defects. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•The cost for inpatient surgery to repair Congenital Heart Defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward Congenital Heart Defect research. Source: Children’s Heart Foundation
•Though research is ongoing, at least 35 defects have now been identified.
•4-8% born with CHD have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
•4-10% born with CHD have Atrioventricular Septal Defects
•8-11% born with CHD have Coarctation of the Aorta
•9-14% born with CHD have Tetralogy of Fallot
•10-11% born with CHD have Transposition of the Great Arteries
•14-16% born with CHD have Ventricular Septal Defects
•Although some babies will be diagnosed during gestation or at birth, sometimes the diagnosis is not made until days, weeks, months, or even years after. In some cases, CHD is not detected until adolescence or adulthood. Source: March of Dimes
•It is a proven fact that the earlier CHD is detected and treated, it is more likely the affected child will survive and have less long term health complications. Source: March of Dimes

This information taken from http://www.itsmyheart.org/chd-information/chd-facts/

Heart Healthy Fun!

Here are some fun links with heart facts, activities, and games for kids! Celebrate American Heart Month with them!

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mheartpeacock.htm

http://www.akidsheart.com/

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=152&id=1446

http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/heart.html

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/ActivitiesforKids/Activities-for-Kids_UCM_304155_SubHomePage.jsp

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3003754

http://www.surfnetkids.com/heart.htm

http://www.nourishinteractive.com/hco/free_printables/kids-valentines-day-activities-free-printables-cute-valentines-day-kids-healthy-nutrition-foods-fun-coloring-activities-worksheets

http://blisstree.com/feel/songs-and-games-for-a-healthy-heart-364/

Recipes:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_eating_kids

http://www.healthyfridge.org/kidsrec.html

Cute idea from: http://www.kidactivities.net/

FEBRUARY IS 'AMERICAN HEART MONTH'! PLAN A HEALTHY HEART DAY!
Celebrate a “healthy” heart with fun, aerobic activities that get children up and moving. You may want to set up several skill stations;

STATIONS CAN INCLUDE:

♥ STEP AEROBOCS STATION: Set up four or five step aerobic steppers and music.

♥ HEALTHY HEART EXERCISES: Demonstrate several aerobic exercises and have children perform three aerobic exercises of their choice at this station (ie. jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging in place)

♥ CHOLESTEROL: Pictures of both high and low cholesterol foods are taped down. Children throw beanbags underhand from a throw line at low cholesterol foods.

♥ BLOOD PRESSURE: Make a sign that says “normal blood pressure 120/80” and tape down pictures of things that can raise blood pressure such as smoking, unhealthy foods, lack of exercise and stress. Children THROW BEANBAGS UNDERHAND from a throw line at the things that will raise blood pressure. (You can put point values on targets and total points)

♥ A HEALTHY BUT YUMMY SNACK TABLE at culmination of activity.

♥ Divide the children into groups and disperse them evenly among the stations. Place them in a numerical order and have them keep this order for all stations. Set the number of tries for each turn and announce when it is time to rotate to the next station. Leave ample space between stations and advise children not to stand in the throwing areas.

February=Awareness!

Helpful Links!

These are also posted on the sidebar! Thank you Kristi Pena!


provides FREE super hero capes to children with congenital heart defects, request one for your heart hero now!
http://www.supportheartheroes.com/

Icing Smiles is a non profit organization that provides custom celebration cakes and other treats to families impacted by critical illness of a child.
http://www.icingsmiles.org/Site/Welcome.html

The Songs of Love Foundation is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates uplifting, personalized songs for children and teens struggling witha life-threatening illness or lifetime disability--free of charge.

The Songs of Love Foundation is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates uplifting, personalized songs for children and teens struggling witha life-threatening illness or lifetime disability--free of charge
http://www.songsoflove.org/

Many children, by no fault of their own, are in need of help each and every day. They pray daily for a healthier life. The mission of the Prayer Child Foundation is to have a hand in answering their prayers and helping these children have the joys of a normal childhood
http://www.prayerchild.org/index.html

The Program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path
http://www.beadsofcourage.org/

http://www.congenitalheartdefects.com/resources.html

Find educational consultants, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, health care providers, academic therapists, tutors, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, coaches, advocates, and attorneys for children with disabilities on the Yellow Pages for Kids for your state.
http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/ms.htm

You will also find special education schools, learning centers, treatment programs, parent groups, respite care, community centers, grassroots organizations, and government programs for children with disabilities


http://www.uhccf.org/apply.html
The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dedicated to facilitating access to medical-related services that have the potential to significantly enhance either the clinical condition or the quality of life of the child and that are not fully covered by the available commercial health benefit plan. This “support” is in the form of a medical grant to be used for medical services not covered or not completely covered by commercial health benefit plans

http://www.aubreyrose.org/
Grants available to assists with medical bills not covered by Insurance

https://applications.cerner.com/firsthand/FirstHand_1a.aspx?id=28729
Offers assistance with treatment or equipment needs, based on funding criteria.



http://www.4jhc.org/jhcapplicationspage.html
A foundation for critically ill children offering financial assistance and counseling.

http://www.modestneeds.org/intro/
A grant based program for families or individuals in financial need

http://sosmd.org/
We enhance lives by supporting, educating and connecting the middle-class, seriously ill, and their loved ones, with catastrophic medical expense relief through our financial assistance programs, education and community outreach


http://www.microgiving.com/
The first crowdfunding website that lets you raise money for anything and give some forward to a charity, cause, or person of your choice. Microgiving is for anyone-- artists, musicians, film makers, developers, designers, dreamers, believers, idealists, inventors, entrepreneurs, non-profits, charities or people struggling through an economic hardship such as a loss of housing, medical emergency or natural disaster


http://bandangels.net/fundraisers
Every year loving moms use billions of bandages to soothe and heal the pain of little ones’ cuts and scrapes. Even the smallest injury warrants help from Dora, Hello Kitty, Barbie, or SpongeBob. Children love bandages. Why not combine the soothing and fun they want with the biblical learning they need AND earn money for your group? We’ve all been approached with the same fundraisers year after year: candles, candy, cookie dough, t-shirts, cookbooks, etc. Consumers are desperately hoping something new will come their way! Band Angels provides your group with an exciting, innovative product that is easy to sell with no risk!
How It Works
1. Determine how many boxes each person will sell.
2. Purchase boxes of Band Angels for $1.50 per box.
3. Sell boxes for $3.50 per box – that’s 57% profit!!
4. We will buy back any unsold boxes – no risk!
Why Band Angels over other fund-raising products?
57% profit on ALL sales – no Sliding Scale!
Brand new product for fundraisers – no competition! - affordable
http://www.gabrielsgift.net/
Our mission is to assist families financially, emotionally, and spiritually. We also raise awareness about CHD within the community and medical industry.

http://www.franceluxe.com/i/goodwishesscarves/Good+Wishes+Scarves.html
If you are a woman or girl experiencing a loss or thinning of hair as a result of illness or treatment, we'll send you a scarf in the pattern and color of your choosing, on us! Our beautiful It's a Wraps or Good Wishes Scarves are made from soft and silky, hand-picked breathable fabrics that flatter your face, protect you from sun and cold, and carry with them good wishes wherever you go. To receive a complimentary scarf or headwrap due to chemotherapy and hair loss, contact Laurie Erickson for more information, or call 888.884.3653

http://www.inspirationthroughart.org/
If you have a child, or know a child, who suffers from any type of serious illness or life altering disability we are here to help. Inspiration Through Art provides our special heroes with complimentary photo shoots, special cards and mail, gift packages, and various other programs, events, and fundraisers

http://dare-to-hope.org/
To better the lives of children with rare diseases and/or complex medical conditions, and raise awareness of rare diseases and complex medical conditions that affect children.


http://www.dempseyburdick.com/index.html
The Dempsey Burdick Memorial Foundation and various cemeteries are partnering in order to help families who have lost a child.

http://www.medicalert.org/
MedicAlert Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing 24-hour emergency medical information and identification service
Offers sponsor membership to qualifying families.

http://www.disabilityresources.org/MISSISSIPPI.html
Disability Resources, inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to promote and improve awareness, availability and accessibility of information that can help people with disabilities live, learn, love, work and play independently.
(you can search for any state)

This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives. The NILMDTS mission statement is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with the gift of professional portraiture. We believe these images serve as an important step in the family's healing process by honoring their child's legacy.
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of more than 7,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and 25 countries. At a family's request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby
http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

Wish Upon A Hero is completely free to its users, allowing everyone who registers the opportunity to cast up to three wishes at a time. Because Wish Upon A Hero is designed to help everyone, wishes can be big or small, elaborate or simple, based on financial need or just asking for a simple favor
http://www.wishuponahero.com/


The Addison H. Gibson Foundation
The Addison H. Gibson Foundation helps prevent medical debt from occurring by providing grant funds to residents of western Pennsylvania who are facing expensive but necessary medical treatment. To apply, patients should contact the foundation's director with information about their condition, the treatment they will need for it, and the cost. The foundation pays the grant funds directly to the health care provider administering the treatment. Since The Addison H. Gibson Foundation will not pay for bills already incurred, patients should contact the foundation well before their treatment is to take place. Applicants must be referred by qualified physicians or social service workers who may request more information by contacting director Rebecca Wallace at (412) 261-1611.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/264673-medical-debt-relief-grants/#ixzz1AsjmJJZZ

CHD Awareness Week!

February 7-14, 2011 is CHD Awareness Week!

Icing Smiles

http://www.icingsmiles.org/Site/Welcome.html


Icing Smiles is a non profit organization that provides custom celebration cakes and other treats to families impacted by critical illness of a child. We understand that the simple things, like a birthday cake, are luxuries to a family battling illness. Our goal is to create a custom cake for the ill child or their sibling that will provide a temporary escape from worry and create a positive memory during a difficult time.

prayerchild.org

http://www.goldcanyon.com/Shop/Candles-for-a-Cause/pl/211

The proceeds from our Candles for Kids line of candles are donated to our charity of choice, the Prayer Child Foundation, which helps to create a brighter tomorrow for children facing physical and emotional challenges. For more information about the Prayer Child Foundation, please visit http://prayerchild.org.

http://www.prayerchild.org/index.html

Heart Hero Capes

http://www.supportheartheroes.com/request-a-cape-auto-response.html


Check out this site, and get your little heart hero a super hero cape! Such a neat idea! I will post more once I get Avery's!

Baby Pierce Article, Jackson Free Press

The following article was posted this week in the Jackson Free Press about the Helms family and their CHD angel, Pierce. Pierce's father, BJ, said, "I know he's in heaven. He's whole again, not hurting. That's how I get peace with it. Every day I miss him, and I'll always miss him."
The kind of peace we crave through times like these, only God can give. Sometimes prayers aren't answered the way we hoped they would be. Thankfully, we have a God who clings to us, when we aren't strong enough to hold on to him. God's plan is so far above our human comprehension, we could never understand, even if he tried to explain it to us. Through this pain, the Helms' family is touching lives and spreading awareness which will in turn save lives. During my pregnancy, I read the following quote from Rick Warren: "Your greatest ministry, will likely come out of your greatest hurt." I believe that to be very true. Through our painful experiences, we are able to relate to others and also comfort them in similar situations. I counted on the following verses to lift me up lots of times during my pregnancy, expecially, when I thought Avery would was going to Heaven rather than staying here with me.

2 Cor. 1:3-7

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it.

2 Cor. 4:8-18

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Regardless, of what happens, God will lead us through it, and if we let Him, He will create a purpose within us that we never would have pictured for our lives. Steven Curtis Chapman's wife made a great point (which I heard on KLove) when she said that when we can praise God through the most terrible times in our lives, as well as the wonderful times, we know our love for Him is pure. Praise Him in whatever storm you are in, and know that He loves you and He has an ultimate plan that is much bigger than we are.



Please join us all in the heart walk to raise awareness and walk in honor of all of the CHD "babies" out there.

Walking for Pierce
by ShaWanda Jacome
September 29, 2010


Pierce lay motionless in her arms, with his little Mohawk hair, dark brown and full. "I got to see his face," says Leah Helms, 33, about what she remembers most vividly in the final moments of her son's life. "I'm glad that we got to have that moment. ... (My husband, BJ, and I) were both just speechless ... how pretty to see his nose and mouth and face."

Pierce Allen Helms, or Baby Pierce as he had become known, had been running on fumes those last couple of days.

"He never gave up, he fought to the end. He never quit," BJ, 35, said.

Pierce's lungs, damaged and full of holes from the ventilator, couldn't be repaired through surgery. And because of sepsis, a whole-body infection, he didn't qualify for a double transplant.

Baby Pierce was born with congenital aortic stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of his aortic valve. Infant (younger than 1 year) death rates are 36.5 per 100,000 white infants and 52.5 per 100,000 black infants, the American Heart Association reports.

Although a large part of the AHA efforts concentrates on adults, it also funds research to find ways to detect congenital heart defects sooner and give children a longer and better quality of life, Elaina Jackson of the AHA of Jackson said.

Dr. Jorge Salazar, chief of congenital heart surgery at the University of Mississippi Health Care, performed the state's first arterial switch on an infant in August.

Since joining UMMC in April, Salazar, 42, has performed 55 successful heart surgeries on children. "I'm really excited for the other kids in Mississippi because they don't have to leave their state anymore. They get the same high-quality care at home," Salazar told the JFP in September.

Prior to Pierce's birth on Oct. 26, 2009, the Helms family had no indication of what lay ahead. Leah had a smooth pregnancy and four prior births of healthy babies.

"We never knew anything was wrong. ... I was thinking everything was fine," Leah said.

Things changed, though, after she delivered. "The nurse said ... 'We think he has a murmur. When he's breathing there's just this little growling sound,'" Leah said.

Pierce was transferred from River Oaks to UMC for surgery, but went into congestive heart failure and respiratory failure. He was then airlifted to the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for additional surgery on his heart.

"We were just in shock. You hear about this kind of stuff, you read about it, but you just don't think it's going to happen to you," BJ said.

Over the next two months, Pierce's condition worsened, and it became evident that he would need a new heart. Pierce was transferred again to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, arriving New Years Day.

"Just the agony of waiting and wondering and not knowing--it's a miserable, miserable feeling," BJ said.

"It was a long journey," he continued. "... I've been to combat ... I mean I wasn't just over in a country typing papers. I was (on the) front line, kicking in doors. And that doesn't compare to the stress of having a child on a transplant list, being that critical."

Baby Pierce had been through so much--pulmonary hypertension, premature ventricular contraction (misfiring of the heart), infections, ventilators, blood clots, transfusions and heavy sedation--his body just couldn't handle the constant strain. On Jan. 15, Leah broke the news on her online journal.

"My little Pierce got his angel wings today around 3."

Through teary eyes, BJ said, "I know he's in heaven. He's whole again, not hurting. That's how I get peace with it. Every day I miss him, and I'll always miss him."

BJ and Leah live in Brandon with their children Katie, 13; Peyton, 6; and Patrick 2. They lost their son Jonathan, who would have been 9 this year, in a 2003 car accident.

The Helmses don't want other Mississippians to go through what they did; they want to bring awareness. And although they wonder if the outcome would have been different if a pediatric cardio unit had been in Mississippi for Pierce, they are glad it's here now.

"I think there was more of a lesson than just to have Pierce and lose him. ... God does everything for a reason. We might not understand it at the time, but you have to listen to him and keep on going." Leah said.

This year, the JFP will walk in memory of Baby Pierce. Last year, more than 3,000 people raised more than $300,000 to fund heart research and educational programs.

The American Heart Association's 2010 Metro Jackson Start! Heart Walk is Sunday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. with registration at 1 p.m. The free event features a kid's zone, music, health information, a one-mile route for heart disease and stroke survivors, and a free, heart-healthy lunch by Subway. Pets on leashes are welcome.

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/walking_for_pierce_092810/

Sign up at metrojacksonheartwalk.
kintera.org/teamjfp to join team JFP. For more information, contact ShaWanda Jacome at shawanda@jacksonfreepress.com, or call 601-362-6121 ext. 16

Great news!

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100921007164/en/Newborn-Coalition-Applauds-Federal-Advisory-Committee-Recommendation

See this link for exciting news on screening for Critical Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease to the core panel for universal screening of all newborns in the United States.

The Mayo Clinic

I found all of the following information on the Mayo Clinic website...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/congenital-heart-defects/CC00026 is the link. I know as a heart mommy myself, I thoroughly understand my own daughter's defects, but I'm not so educated on others. These are pretty brief descriptions with photos, so I thought they'd give everyone an overview of some defects that some may not be familiar with- hope these help! God Bless! Megan

Truncus arteriosus

Truncus arteriosus

This is a defect in which the normally separate pulmonary artery and aorta merge into one single large vessel (truncus) arising from the two bottom chambers of the heart (right and left ventricles). Many people who have this defect also have a large ventricular septal defect, which turns the right and left ventricles into a single chamber. This allows red oxygenated blood and blue unoxygenated blood to mix. Too much blood may flow to the lungs, flooding them and making it difficult to breathe. It can also result in life-threatening pulmonary hypertension — high blood pressure in the lungs.

Surgery is needed to close the septal defect with a patch and to separate the pulmonary arteries from the trunk.

Atrioventricular canal defect

Atrioventricular canal defect

This is a combination of defects, including a large hole in the center of the heart and a single common valve instead of the separate tricuspid and mitral valves. Also called atrioventricular septal defect, this defect is classified by whether it's only partial (involving only the upper chambers of the heart), or complete (in which blood can travel freely among all four chambers of the heart). Both forms of the defect allow extra blood to circulate to the lungs, causing the heart to enlarge.

The condition occurs most often in children with Down syndrome. Infants may also have trouble breathing and not grow well. Surgery is often done in infancy to close the hole and reconstruct the valves.

Ebstein's anomaly

Ebstein's anomaly

This is a defect of the tricuspid valve, which controls blood flow between the heart's right atrium, which is an upper chamber of the heart, and the right ventricle, a bottom chamber of the heart. The valve is positioned lower than normal into the right ventricle instead of remaining between the atrium and the ventricle. The incorrectly formed ventricle is too small and the atrium too large, and neither functions properly. The valve often allows blood to leak from the ventricle into the atrium. This defect often occurs along with other heart defects.

Some patients have symptoms early in life including heart failure and life-threatening irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias). Other patients may have no signs or symptoms until adulthood. Treatment is with medications or with surgery.

Tetralogy of Fallot

Tetralogy of Fallot

This defect is a combination of four (tetralogy) heart defects. The four defects typically are ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary valve stenosis, a misplaced aorta and a thickened right ventricular wall (right ventricular hypertrophy). They usually result in an insufficient amount of oxygenated blood reaching the body.

Complications of tetralogy of Fallot (fuh-LOE) include cyanosis — sometimes called "blue baby syndrome," since the lips, fingers and toes may have a bluish tinge from lack of oxygen — as well as poor eating, not being physically able to exercise, irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), delayed growth and development, and stroke. Surgery to repair the defects is required early in life.

Transposition of the greater arteries

Transposition of the great arteries

With this defect, the positions of the aorta — the main artery leading away from the heart — and the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs, are reversed (transposed). The aorta and pulmonary arteries are, together, sometimes referred to as the great arteries. The aorta arises from the right ventricle instead of the left ventricle. The pulmonary artery also arises from the left ventricle instead of the right. This prevents nourishing oxygenated blood from reaching the body.

This condition would quickly be fatal to a newborn except it's generally accompanied by another defect — commonly a septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus — that allows oxygen-rich blood to get to the body. Surgery to repair the condition is usually necessary shortly after birth.

Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis
Aortic stenosis is a defect that narrows or blocks the aortic valve opening, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood into the aorta — the main artery leading away from the heart — on to the rest of your body.

The defect can cause the heart to get bigger, left-sided heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), infections of the heart (endocarditis) and fainting. Treatment includes surgery to repair or replace the valve or, in young children, widening of the valve through a surgical procedure called balloon valvuloplasty, in which a balloon-like device widens the valve so that blood can flow through.

Pulomonary Valve Stenosis

Pulmonary valve stenosis

In this condition, blood flow from one of the heart's bottom chambers, the right ventricle, to the pulmonary artery is slowed by narrowing at the pulmonary valve. When there's narrowing (stenosis), the right ventricle must pump harder to get blood into the artery that carries blood to the lungs (pulmonary artery). Pulmonary valve stenosis may occur along with other defects, such as thickening of the muscle of the right ventricle below the valve.

In many cases, pulmonary stenosis is mild and doesn't require treatment. But because it can cause heart failure, arrhythmias or enlargement of the right heart chambers, it may be necessary to correct the defect. In many cases a balloon (pulmonary valvuloplasty) open the narrowed valve. In some cases, especially people with other heart defects, surgery may be necessary to replace the diseased valve with an artificial valve.