Congenital Heart Defect News and Research

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A congenital heart defect is a problem with the structure of the heart. It is present at birth. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of major birth defect.

Arterial switch to 12 o'clock position linked to myocardial ischaemia risk in adolescence

Arterial switch to the 12 o'clock position is associated with abnormal coronary perfusion in adolescence, reveals research presented today at EuroCMR 2016.1 Babies born with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) undergo the arterial switch operation in the first days of life.

13 May 2016

Boston Children's, Edwards Lifesciences launch new prosthetic heart valve study for congenital heart defect

Surgeons in the Heart Center at Boston Children's Hospital have partnered with Edwards Lifesciences to launch a clinical study of a new prosthetic heart valve for patients born with a congenital heart defect.

17 Mar 2016

New methodology could spare kids from unnecessary heart surgery

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than help save a child's heart? That's what Vittoria Flamini, an industry assistant professor in Tandon's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has in mind.

15 Feb 2016

TBX5 gene expression could play key role in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect and the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States. Mutations in the gene TBX5 have been shown to cause both rare and more prevalent forms of congenital heart disease, yet the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear.

9 Feb 2016

Cornell researchers discover natural triggers that may reduce congenital heart defects among newborns

Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered natural triggers that could reduce the chance of life-threatening, congenital heart defects among newborn infants. Those triggers can override developmental, biological miscues, leading to proper embryonic heart and valve formation.

5 Jan 2016

Preeclampsia during pregnancy linked to heart defects in infants

Pregnant women with preeclampsia have a higher risk of delivering an infant with a congenital heart defect. An extensive study of 1.9 million mother and infant pairs by a team at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre has shown significant association between these diseases in mothers and newborns from early pregnancy.

22 Oct 2015

Children's Hospital Los Angeles successfully implants Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve in child actor

Cardiologists from Children's Hospital Los Angeles successfully implanted a Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve in child actor Max Page, the boy who made headlines playing mini Darth Vader in a 2011 Super Bowl ad for Volkswagen.

28 Aug 2015

Arterial shunt in hybrid palliation better for hypoplastic left heart syndrome treatment

Children born with the major congenital heart defect hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) often must undergo a series of corrective surgeries beginning at birth. While most have the standard three-stage Norwood procedure, a hybrid strategy has been introduced to offset some disadvantages associated with the Norwood surgeries. In a report in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, investigators compare whether outcomes can be improved if an arterial shunt is used as a source of pulmonary blood flow rather than the more conventional venous shunt as part of the hybrid strategy of HLHS surgical reconstruction.

14 Aug 2015

Certain metabolites in the blood could predict clinical outcome in children undergoing heart surgery

The study, published today in the journal Critical Care Medicine and carried out at Royal Brompton Hospital, followed children undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease, and found that by analysing metabolites in the blood -- molecules created as a result of metabolism -- it was possible to predict a child's clinical outcome.

6 May 2015

Older mothers who exercise during pregnancy can reduce baby's risk of congenital heart defects

In people, a baby's risk of congenital heart defects is associated with the age of the mother. Risk goes up with increasing age. Newborn mice predisposed to heart defects because of genetic mutations show the same age association.

2 Apr 2015

3D printed heart models to aid doctors plan for complex ops'

A team of doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are exploring new avenues to improve surgical preparations and patient care. The hospital recently partnered with the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) to produce a 3D printed heart model of a patient with a rare, life-threatening heart condition. 3D printed anatomical models derived from patient scans enable doctors to “practice” surgery in advance and assess possible complications for delicate procedures, improving the outcome of operations.

19 Mar 2015

CHOP launches Fetal Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity Program

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia today launched the Fetal Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity Program. Building on growing evidence of the interaction of heart disease and brain development in the fetus, this Program will systematically investigate innovative therapies to protect brain development and to prevent brain injury as early as possible before birth.

26 Jun 2014

Loyola University Medical Center receives accreditation in pediatric transthoracic echocardiography

Loyola University Medical Center has received a three-year accreditation in pediatric transthoracic echocardiography by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.

24 Jun 2014

Study of non-surgically implanted replacement pulmonary valve shows strong results

The first post-FDA approval study of a non-surgically implanted replacement pulmonary valve showed strong short- and mid-term results for the device in patients with certain congenital heart defects, according to research presented by a U-M pediatric interventional cardiologist at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session Sunday.

1 Apr 2014

Protein known to promote cancer appears to give blood vessels strength and shape, researchers report

A protein known to promote cancer appears to give the blood vessels strength and shape, researchers report. When yes-associated protein, or YAP, is deleted from vascular smooth muscle cells during development, the protein makes thin-walled blood vessels that over-dilate in response to the usual pressure of blood flow, said Dr. Jiliang Zhou, vascular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

25 Mar 2014

Xeltis completes enrollment for study of spontaneous tissue growth technology

Xeltis, a privately held medical device company dedicated to transforming standards of care in heart valve replacement and vascular surgery, has announced that it has finished enrollment in a five-patient feasibility study of implantable products intended to enable for the first time the spontaneous growth of natural, healthy heart valves and vessels. With its proprietary technology, the company has pioneered an entirely new therapeutic category called Endogenous Tissue Growth, or ETG, in which surgeons use unique implants designed to allow the body to repair itself by growing natural, healthy tissue.

28 Feb 2014

Nearly 1% of all newborns in Switzerland diagnosed with congenital heart defect

Approximately one percent of all newborns in Switzerland are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, roughly half of them require open heart surgery. Most children, including those with the most severe heart defects, survive because of the significant advancements in surgical techniques. Therefore, the current research focuses less on survival than on long-term consequences and quality of life of these children.

2 Dec 2013

Pregnant women's proximity to organic compounds impacts risk of heart defects in children

Children's congenital heart defects may be associated with their mothers' exposure to specific mixtures of environmental toxins during pregnancy, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

18 Nov 2013

Aortic stenosis doubles in patients with family history of the condition

Aortic stenosis is the most common heart valve disease in the elderly. It is associated with congenital bicuspid aortic valve and previous rheumatic heart disease, but is also often caused by calcification of a normal valve. Calcification of a normal valve may be associated with atherosclerotic changes in the portion of the aorta closest to the valve.

2 Sep 2013

WVU ICRH director named 2013 Rural Health Practitioner of the Year

Larry Rhodes, M.D., interim chair of the West Virginia University Department of Pediatrics and director of the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health, has been named the 2013 Rural Health Practitioner of the Year by the National Rural Health Association.

13 May 2013