Congenital Heart Disease News and Research

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Early promise for pulmonary artery denervation in PAH patients

Pulmonary artery denervation is feasible and may reduce pulmonary arterial pressure in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, phase II findings suggest.

11 Dec 2015

Study finds link between congenital heart disease and neurodevelopmental disorders

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, the Pediatric Cardiac Genetics Consortium, and the Pediatric Heart Network have found a number of genetic mutations that explain why many children with congenital heart disease also have other significant health challenges, including neurodevelopmental disorders and other congenital problems.

9 Dec 2015

Gene mutations that cause congenital heart disease also lead to neurodevelopmental delays

Some of the same gene mutations that cause heart defects in children also lead to neurodevelopmental delays, including learning disabilities. A large study of congenital heart disease (CHD) reveals overlapping genetic influences during early childhood development.

9 Dec 2015

Pregnant women with elevated blood-sugar levels more likely to have babies with heart defects

Pregnant women with elevated blood-sugar levels are more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects, even if their blood sugar is below the cutoff for diabetes, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Children's Health.

12 Oct 2015

Invitae announces dramatic expansion of genetic testing menu

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a genetic information company, has announced that it has more than doubled the size of its genetic testing platform to include more than 600 genes and will begin releasing the new content between now and the end of the year. Invitae is immediately expanding its menu with dozens of new test panels for hereditary cancer, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, pediatric and other rare disorders.

7 Oct 2015

Children with congenital heart disease and ADHD can benefit from stimulant medications

A new study finds that children with congenital heart disease and ADHD can take stimulant medications without fear of significant cardiovascular side effects.

5 Oct 2015

Delayed umbilical cord clamping may benefit extremely preterm infants

Clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord happens within 10 seconds after birth in most cases, in part so members of a medical team can more quickly begin caring for a newborn. But research from Nationwide Children's Hospital shows that waiting 30 to 45 seconds to clamp could have advantages for extremely preterm infants.

25 Sep 2015

Technology enabling fewer invasive cardiac procedures benefits Glasgow children

Clinicians at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children are now able to scan patients’ hearts in just one heartbeat thanks to the installation of GE Healthcare’s Revolution* CT. The technology’s ability to freeze the heart’s motion helps to produce high quality diagnostic images, even for patients with erratic or high heart rates which may have led to poor quality images in the past. This helps reduce the need for invasive examination procedures and allows for quick and confident diagnoses of heart disease.

17 Sep 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

Researchers awarded $6.4 million grant to identify causes of neurodevelopmental disorders in children with CHDs

As advances in medicine are giving rise to growing numbers of children who are surviving severe heart defects, a phenomenon is emerging that is catching parents and healthcare providers off-guard. Over half of these children also have a seemingly unrelated disability: neurodevelopmental disorders. Some have severe cognitive and motor deficits that arise early.

25 Aug 2015

Seizures are common but not clinically apparent in newborns after cardiac surgery

In 2011, the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society issued a guideline recommending that neonates undergoing cardiac surgery for repair of congenital heart disease be placed on continuous encephalographic (EEG) monitoring after surgery to detect seizures. These recommendations followed reports that seizures are common in this population, may not be detected clinically, and are associated with adverse neurocognitive outcomes.

20 Aug 2015

Johns Hopkins study finds substantial increase in rate, costs of hospitalizations for pediatric pulmonary hypertension

A review of 15 years’ worth of data in a national pediatric medical database has documented a substantial increase in the rate of hospitalizations for children with a form of high blood pressure once most common in those with congenital heart disease.

13 Aug 2015

Pitt researchers figure out how to quantify beating action of cilia

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have figured out how to objectively quantify the beating action of cilia, the tiny, hair-like projections on cells that line nasal passages, the lungs and almost every other body tissue, according to a study published online today in Science Translational Medicine.

6 Aug 2015

UCLA cardiologists use less invasive approach to replace heart valve

Last summer, after a long career as a successful entrepreneur and a brief retirement, Richard Whitaker was helping to start another new company. Unfortunately, a serious health concern caused a couple of interruptions in his work on the new venture. One of Whitaker's heart valves wasn't working properly, which caused congestive heart failure and led to two hospitalizations within several months.

2 Jul 2015

Helen DeVos Children's Hospital uses two imaging techniques to produce hybrid 3D model of a patient's heart

Congenital heart experts from Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital have successfully integrated two common imaging techniques to produce a three-dimensional anatomic model of a patient's heart.

27 Jun 2015

PAH diagnosis delayed for adult congenital heart disease patients

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is often not diagnosed in adult patients with congenital heart disease until 6 years or more after their symptoms first appear, research shows.

17 Jun 2015

Cleveland Clinic Children's to host second annual Pediatric Innovation Summit

Cleveland Clinic Children's will host its second annual Pediatric Innovation Summit June 11 to 13, 2015, at the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland. Designed to promote the professional development of physicians and healthcare providers, the event will explore the current state of pediatric care and the cutting-edge medical advancements transforming the research and treatment of childhood diseases.

1 Jun 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

Young age and small body weight predispose pediatric CHD patients toward re-intervention

A retrospective review of 633 adults and children who underwent bioprosthetic pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) for congenital heart disease between 1996 and 2014 indicated that the risk of re-intervention was five times greater for children than adults, with the likelihood of re-intervention decreasing by 10% for each increasing year of age at surgery.

29 Apr 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