About CHD

What Is CHD?

Congenital Heart Disease (or CHD) is a general term used to describe a variety of heart conditions that are present at birth. They can affect the shape of the heart, how it functions, or both. CHD is the most common type of birth defect and can vary in severity from mild to very serious.

Facts About CHD

Each year approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States with Congenital Heart Disease.
More than 50% of all children born with Congenital Heart Disease will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.
Congenital Heart Disease is the #1 cause of birth defect-related deaths.
Congenital Heart Disease is the most common birth defects in the world. Nearly one of every 100 babies is born with CHD.
There is no known cause, prevention or cure for Congenital Heart Disease.

The cost for inpatient surgery to repair Congenital Heart Disease exceeds $2.2 billion a year.
More adults are now living with Congenital Heart Disease than at any other time in history.
Every 15 minutes, a child is born with Congenital Heart Disease.
There are more than 40 different types of Congenital Heart Defects.
Congenital Heart Disease is approximately 60 TIMES more prevalent than childhood cancer, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD research.