Today is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day!

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Feb 14, 2018 | Suzanne Ferguson | @suzannerferguson

February 14 marks Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day. It’s a special day dedicated to raising awareness and support for children born with heart defects. It’s also a time to celebrate our little heart inspirations.

CHDs are the most common birth defect. Each year, approximately 40,000 children are born with CHDsand almost 1000 of those babies are born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Currently, most causes of CHDs are currently unknown; so prevention may not be an option. The cause of HLHS is also currently unknown but our program is working hard to find the cause. In order to study this, we rely on participation from families. Thank you to all you who have contributed. We couldn’t do our work without you!

Our program works hard every day to try to find solutions for HLHS. In order to do that, we have a team in place studying genetics, imaging, and stem cell treatments. For more information or to participate, email HLHS@mayo.edu.

The Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is a collaborative network of specialists bonded by the vision of delaying or preventing heart failure for individuals affected by congenital heart defects including HLHS. The specialized team is addressing the various aspects of these defects by using research and clinical strategies ranging from basic science, to diagnostic imaging to regenerative therapies.