Who is affected by congenital heart defects

Congenital heart defects happen in about 8 out of 1,000 babies born in the United States.¹ About one-third of these babies (2 to 3 out of 1,000 live births) have major defects that need surgery or have defects that may cause death during the first year of life.¹ The number of congenital heart defects among babies born early (premature) is much higher-about 2 out of 100 births.²

Congenital heart defects affect a similar number of boys and girls. But the types of defects that are common in boys and girls tend to differ. Boys tend to have a greater risk for certain defects such as complete transposition. And girls tend to have a greater risk of other types of defects, such as atrial or ventricular septal defects.³

Citations

1. Fulton DR, Freed MD (2004). The pathology, pathophysiology, recognition, and treatment of congenital heart disease. In V Fuster et al., eds., Hurst's The Heart, 11th ed., pp.1785-1850. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. Bernstein D (2004). Epidemiology and genetic basis of congenital heart disease. In RE Behrman et al., eds., Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 17th ed., pp. 1499-1502. Philadelphia: Saunders.

3. Bernstein D (2007). Epidemiology and genetic basis of congenital heart disease. In RM Kliegman et al., eds., Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 18th ed., pp. 1878-1881. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.