CHD FACTS AND LINKS

Nicholas - the Future Heartbreaker

CHD Facts and Links

Congenital Heart Defects Are The #1 Birth Defect

Nicholas Mathews - Partial Canal Defect

1 in 125 - The number of children born with a Congenital Heart Defect

There are over 35 different Congenital Heart Defects

The most common congenital heart defects are:

Atrial Septal Defect or Ventricular Septal Defect - an abnormal opening in a wall separating the parts of the heart

Coarctation of the aorta, pulmonary stenosis, or aortic stenosis - Narrowing of a blood vessel or a heart valve in or near the heart

Transposition of the Great Vessels, Tetrology of Fallot, Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return, or Truncus Arteriosus - Abnormal positioning of the major blood vessels that connect to the baby's heart

Tricuspid Valve Abnormalities - Problems with the heart valves

Patent Ductus Arteriosus - Blood vessels that remain open after birth

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome - Underdevelopment of the left side of the heart

Although nearly twice as many children die each year from congenital heart disease compared with childhood cancers, funding for pediatric cancer research is 5 times higher than for congenital heart disease.

CHD Family Tree - Click Above for Special Heart Graphics

If you would like to have a site or link added to this CHD Family Tree, please contact me. Surgery and procedures to correct CHD are changing rapidly. Therefore, information on CHD sites can become outdated. The information here is not intended to be a substitute for your doctor. I try to check the sites here but as you see, there are quite a number of them. If you find a link that is broken, please let me know. cherir1@peoplepc.com Thank you.

Specific defects and repairs -

Preparing For Surgery

Places to stay during hospitalizations - Please check with your specific hospital.

Organizations That Help Provide Needed Surgery -

Helpful Products -

Children's Hospital Heart Camp - Ohio (614) 722-2530

Champ Camp - Oklahoma Contact DSLammert@SaintFrancis.com

Brave Hearts - Nebraska Contact jstrawn@chsomaha.org

In 2002, Nicholas received a wish trip to Disneyworld from Kid's Wish. His family stayed at the Give Kids the World Resort. Please click on these sites to see how your child may qualify for a wish grant or to learn how you can support these groups. You can also learn about how the products you buy help fund places such as Give Kids the World.

Click above to go to Kid's Wish

Click above to go to Give Kids the World

Helpful Heart Sites -

This site is a continuous work in progress. Please feel free to e-mail with suggestions for improvement or to add a site. Thank you, Cheri cherir1@peoplepc.com