Heart Defect News and Research

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New lab-grown heart valves advance treatments for childhood heart diseases

Melbourne researchers have created human heart valve tissues from stem cells, providing a powerful new platform to advance treatments for childhood heart diseases.

11 Aug 2026

Seven-second X-ray scan detects severe pulmonary valve regurgitation with high accuracy

Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a simple, rapid, and low-radiation X-ray technique that can evaluate the severity of a heart condition known as pulmonary valve regurgitation-a common and clinically significant complication after surgical repair of a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot.

4 Jun 2026

Genetic research identifies rare DNA changes causing common heart valve defect

New clues from genetic research may help explain what causes the most common heart defect present at birth.

24 Apr 2026

Long-term study reveals lifelong challenges for children with single-ventricle heart disease

Children born with single‑ventricle heart disease, a rare and serious heart defect, often undergo multiple surgeries in their first years of life.

11 Mar 2026

New method clarifies whether NOTCH1 variants cause congenital heart defects

One to two out of every 100 newborn babies are born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), yet the exact cause remains unclear.

26 Feb 2026

AI analyzes ECG to predict ventricular remodeling in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot

Researchers at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Heart Center led a multicenter effort to develop and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can analyze a standard electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot who may be at risk for harmful heart changes typically detected by cardiac MRI.

18 Feb 2026

Children’s Hospital Colorado completes its first heart and liver dual transplant

Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's Colorado) successfully performed the hospital's first-ever heart and liver dual organ transplant, with support from dozens of team members across 25 different multidisciplinary care teams.

19 Dec 2025

AI-assisted ultrasounds greatly improve detection of congenital heart defects

Doctors in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai have become the first in New York City to implement an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that enhances ultrasounds on a large scale-resulting in earlier detection and better care for babies and families.

2 Dec 2025

More prenatal visits allow newborns with mild heart defects to receive the right level of care

In cases of mild congenital heart defects, more prenatal visits are associated with greater likelihood of appropriate delivery at a community hospital, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

10 Nov 2025

Adults with both Down Syndrome and congenital heart defects show remarkable resilience

Adults with both Down Syndrome and congenital heart defects, also known as congenital heart disease (CHD), are showing remarkable resilience despite facing significant medical challenges, according to a new MUSC study in Pediatric Cardiology.

19 Sep 2025

Study identifies risk factors that increase risk of death in children with Fontan circulatory failure

A multi-center study has identified critical risk factors that increase the likelihood of death in children with a heart defect who are awaiting or have recently undergone heart transplantation, according to findings published in Circulation.

11 Aug 2025

Palliative care for cardiovascular conditions may help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life

Palliative care may help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for people with cardiovascular disease and ensure that treatment is aligned with the patient's personal beliefs and values throughout all stages of illness, whether they are hospitalized in a cardiac intensive care unit or receiving outpatient care, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association's flagship, peer-reviewed journal Circulation.

15 May 2025

Early pregnancy anemia linked to higher risk of heart defects in newborns

New research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology found that mothers who are anemic in early pregnancy face a higher likelihood of giving birth to a child with a heart defect.

23 Apr 2025

Long COVID poses lasting health risks for young people

Long COVID can result in increased risk for a variety of serious health problems for young people, including those affecting the kidney, gut, and cardiovascular system, according to a group of new studies led by investigators at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

21 Apr 2025

Nontraditional risk factors linked to stroke in adults under 50

Adults younger than 50 years of age had more than double the risk of having a stroke from migraine or other nontraditional stroke risk factors rather than traditional risks such as high blood pressure, according to research published today in Stroke, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.

17 Apr 2025

Congenital heart defects may be linked to increased cancer risk in babies and mothers

Being born with a heart defect may be associated with an increased cancer risk for babies and their moms, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

17 Mar 2025

AI-based model detects unseen risk combinations in pregnancies

A new AI-based analysis of almost 10,000 pregnancies has discovered previously unidentified combinations of risk factors linked to serious negative pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth.

31 Jan 2025

AI software improves detection of congenital heart defects in prenatal ultrasounds

Congenital heart defects (abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth) are the most common type of birth defect and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a diagnosis that is severe enough to require surgery or other medical intervention within the first year of life.

31 Jan 2025

Unveiling the genetic roots of bicuspid aortic valve

Large and rare duplications and deletions in a chromosome region known as 22q11.2 , which involves genes that regulate cardiac development, are linked to nonsyndromic bicuspid aortic valve disease, according to a new study led by UTHealth Houston researchers.

16 Jan 2025

Pandemic linked to 16% rise in babies born with heart defects

The proportion of babies born with a congenital heart abnormality increased by 16 per cent after the first year of the pandemic, according to research at City St George's, University of London and published today in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

15 Nov 2024