The Need
Congenital Heart Disease Worldwide
of newborns are affected by CHD. Half require a heart operation in the first year of life to survive the first year and have a chance to live to healthy adulthood
children with CHDs live in low-resourced settings of the world
of congenital heart disease diagnoses in China are missed or late
One in three children is born with a heart murmur and one in 120 with pathologic murmur due to congenital heart diseases. Nine out of 10 children with CHD are born in low resourced settings. Diagnosis and treatment of CHD remain a challenge in low resourced settings due to an overall shortage of trained medical professionals.
Ventricular septal defect (VSD), a common CHD with an opening between the ventricles of the heart, is a defect that is frequently surgically repaired. Children with VSD can live a normal life with a timely repair, normally by two or three years of age. If the defect remains open, the shunting blood from the left to the right ventricle can cause irreversible damage to the heart and lungs and the patient’s overall prognosis is poor.
The detection and treatment of common CHDs such as VSD, Tetralogy of Fallot, Patent ductus arteriosus, Atrial septal defect, and Semilunar valve stenosis are relatively common CHDs that are often the focus of regional pediatric heart centers even in low resource settings. These CHD anomalies produce pathologic murmurs that can be differentiated from normal innocent murmurs with traditional auscultation and assisted by remote consultation for support and training. The treatment of these common CHD can often produce an excellent outcome in cardiac centers in many low resource settings.
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