Congenital Heart Disease
Congenital heart diseases are structural
abnormalities of the heart which are present from birth.
They affect around 4,600 babies born in the UK
every year - babies like Niamh, who was diagnosed with a rare heart
condition at the age of just 13 weeks.
Doctors are able to diagnose and treat many congenital heart defects today, thanks
partly to decades of research discoveries that have gone
before.
Niamh's grandmother Marilyn reflects on their experiences: "The
facilities, the equipment and the care, were second to none.
Although it was a harrowing time we were privileged to receive the benefits of all the hard work of research over the years.
Niamh
had to have an operation, but just a week afterwards in October
2006 she was recovering so well that her parents were able to take
her home in plenty of time for a very special Christmas.
The impact of advances in diagnosis, treatment and care is
stark - in the 1950s around eight out of ten babies with a
complex congenital heart condition died before their first
birthday.
Today, thanks to advances in treatment and care, more than eight
out of ten babies with congenital heart disease grow up to be
adults. Find out more with our 50 years of heart health timeline.
Mapping heart defects
Now retired, BHF Professor Robert
Anderson and his team at the Institute of
Child Health mapped out the details of heart defects.
This knowledge, combined with advances in imaging technology,
means cardiologists can give these babies the best chance of life,
by identifying and treating abnormalities as early as possible.
The 'switch' procedure
BHF Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub developed surgical techniques to
treat complex congenital defects. The ‘switch’ procedure is
now used to correct a defect in babies born with wrongly connected
heart vessels.
Specialist support
A network of specialist BHF heart
nurses provides vital care and support to patients and their
families across the country.
As they grow, these patients now have access to specialist
support throughout their lives thanks to BHF Professor John Deanfield and Dr Jane Somerville, who
established the new cardiology speciality of grown-up congenital
heart disease (GUCH).
What’s next?
We continue to support research to improve the understanding,
diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease.
Teams across the country - including those led by BHF Professors
Bernard Keavney and Shoumo Bhattacharya - are investigating the
genetics behind why some babies are born with heart defects, with
the ultimate aim of preventing them altogether.