Congenital Heart Disease News and Research

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Overprotection during childhood leads to heart-focused anxiety in adults with congenital heart disease: Study

Adults with congenital heart disease are more likely to suffer heart-focused anxiety - a fear of heart-related symptoms and sensations - if their parents were overprotective during their childhood and adolescence. Dr. Lephuong Ong from Orion Health Services in Vancouver, and colleagues from University Health Network and York University in Toronto, Canada, suggest that health care professionals could encourage greater independence for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease to improve their psychosocial adjustment. Dr. Ong's work1 is published online in Springer's International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

16 Sep 2010

Long-term stenting of aortic coarctation yields 77% success rate

Researchers from the Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium (CCISC) who evaluated the intermediate and long-term results of stent implantation for aortic coarctation found that cumulative intermediate success was 86%, and cumulative long-term success was 77%. Results of this study appear in the October issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

14 Sep 2010

New insight into most common form of congenital heart disease

Repairing small, seemingly benign holes in a child's heart may be more clinically important than previously thought, as dysfunction could be lurking out of sight. These are the findings from a study conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Ohio State University Medical Center examining a subset of the most common form of congenital heart disease, ventricular septal defect.

14 Sep 2010

FDA clears Viking Systems' Next Generation 3DHD visualization system

Viking Systems, Inc. announced today that it has received clearance of its 510(k) application by the Food and Drug Administration related to its Next Generation 3DHD visualization system. The System is scheduled for market launch in Washington D.C. at this year's American College of Surgeons' Annual Clinical Congress which will be held from October 3-7.

8 Sep 2010

ESC releases new Clinical Practice Guidelines for management of Grown-up Congenital Heart Disease

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) today announces the release of new Clinical Practice Guidelines covering the management of Grown-up Congenital Heart Disease (GUCH). More than two million adults in Europe are assumed to be affected by the condition, and the numbers are growing as a consequence of sharply increased survival rates due to advances in paediatric cardiology and heart surgery.

2 Sep 2010

International Symposium to explore Hybrid approach for congenital heart disease

Interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons throughout the United States and the world, who treat patients with congenital heart disease, will gather at the Hilton Columbus at Easton Town Center August 31-September 2, 2010 for the International Symposium on the Hybrid Approach to Congenital Heart Disease (ISHAC).

31 Aug 2010

Viking Systems to present Next Generation 3DHD technology at 5th ISHAC

Viking Systems, Inc. announced today that it will present its Next Generation 3DHD technology at the 5th International Symposium on Hybrid Approach to Congenital Heart Disease (ISHAC) from August 31 - September 2, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio.

27 Aug 2010

3D MRI enhances visualization, displays fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems

Three-dimensional MRI is an emerging and useful technique for displaying fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems in the womb in a wide spectrum of clinical applications, according to Jeffrey C. Hellinger, M.D., a pediatric imaging specialist at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

26 Aug 2010

New study on decision making for infants with complex life threatening illnesses

Sharron Docherty understands that medical care for a critically ill infant involves much more than treatments designed to bring about a cure.

5 Aug 2010

Thymosin beta 4 is essential to healthy heart development, embryonic survival: Research

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a research team from the Molecular Medicine Unit at UCL-Institute of Child Health in London reported preclinical findings that Thymosin beta 4, is essential to healthy heart development and embryonic survival.

2 Aug 2010

VitaPath Genetics launches VitaTrack Folate Tracker

VitaPath Genetics, the Spina Bifida Association and the National Council on Folic Acid today announced the launch of the free iPhone application—the VitaTrack Folate Tracker— which allows women to track their daily intake of folate and folic acid. Maintaining an adequate level of folic acid prior to and during pregnancy can reduce the risk of serious birth defects like Spina Bifida by up to 70%. Studies show that folic acid may also help prevent congenital heart disease, pre-term labor, and cleft lip and palate.

30 Jul 2010

Report on neuropsychological effects after surgery for acyanotic heart defects

School-aged children who undergo cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during surgery for less complicated congenital heart defects do not appear to suffer any impairments in neurocognitive abilities, such as intelligence, memory, motor skills and behavior.

26 Jul 2010

$125,000 grant to study impact of delayed umbilical cord clamping on surgical outcomes

A newly funded study is set to determine whether waiting two minutes to clamp a newborn's umbilical cord after delivery could improve how well he or she recovers from corrective heart surgery.

16 Jul 2010

Children's National and George Washington University receive NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award

Children's National Medical Center, in partnership with The George Washington University Medical Center, has received a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Jul 2010

Study shows gene-environment interaction in congenital heart disease

A pregnant mother's diet may be able to interact with the genes her unborn child inherits and influence the type or severity of birth defect according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation. The study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, suggests that mothers who eat a high fat diet before and through pregnancy could be inadvertently putting the health of their offspring at risk.

7 Jul 2010

Wellcome Trust launches project in UK to decode genomes of 10,000 people

On the tenth anniversary of the completion of the first draft of the human genome - a draft which had taken ten years to complete - the Wellcome Trust today launches a project to decode the genomes of 10,000 people over the next three years. This will be one of the largest genome sequencing programmes ever undertaken and will analyse the genomes of the equivalent of one in 6,000 people in the UK.

28 Jun 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia first in region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves

Signaling a new frontier in the treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the first hospital in our region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves in children with heart defects. This minimally invasive procedure gives patients a non-surgical option in their ongoing treatment.

18 Jun 2010

Masimo SET pulse oximetry screening effective for early diagnosis of critical CHD in newborns

Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry™ and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today that a new clinical study published online in the German pediatric journal, Klinische Padiatrie, showed that adding Masimo SET pulse oximetry screening to the physical examination of newborns was an effective method to achieve early diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease (CHD).

4 Jun 2010

Quality of life improves treatment of children with velocardiofacial syndrome: Research

Research about quality of life is improving the treatment of children with velocardiofacial syndrome, a chronic, genetic condition with a wide range of symptoms, including congenital heart disease, palatal abnormalities (e.g. cleft palate), and learning difficulties.