Global Need for Pediatric Cardiac Care
1.3 million
More than one million children around the world are born every year with life-threatening but highly-treatable heart defects.
10% of Children
Worldwide, 90% of children do not have access to heart care that would save their lives – and without which they will die prematurely.
97% of Children
By contrast, in the U.S., 97% of children born with heart defects are successfully treated.
Timely Cardiac Care: The ONLY Solution
With timely cardiac care like that which is available in the U.S., nearly all children born with CHD can be successfully treated.
Since 2000, 97% of children born with heart defects in the U.S. routinely received timely treatment, primarily through open heart surgery, before their first birthday. This enviable success rate means that the vast majority of American children with CHD have gone on to lead normal lives.
Heart to Heart develops children’s heart centers where a baby born with any type of heart defect can receive timely life-saving treatment within their unique window of opportunity. The development of self-sustaining centers in areas of need is of critical importance because, without local centers, children must wait for the arrival of foreign teams or travel abroad themselves in order to be treated. Unfortunately, for many children, neither of these options is possible, and the window within which a child can be operated closes. Each pediatric cardiac program Heart to Heart develops saves thousands more children long after our collaboration concludes and is a step in the direction of global health equity. Learn more about our life-saving work in Russia, Latin America, and beyond!
Why do only some children get treated for CHD?
The incidence of CHD worldwide is 1 in 100 children. It is the most commonly occurring birth defect and we do not yet know its exact cause. This means that CHD occurs at about the same rate no matter where a child is born. However, treatment for CHD often requires surgical intervention. Open heart surgery is one of the most challenging types of surgery that can be performed. In many parts of the world, there is no established educational or professional pathway for a person to become a pediatric cardiac surgeon or another kind of pediatric cardiac specialist. Thus, many families and children cannot access the life-saving care they desperately need.
Heart to Heart’s mission is to develop children’s heart centers to expand and advance access to the only way to save the lives of the majority of children born with congenital heart defects – early surgical intervention. Heart to Heart has been particularly effective in teaching teams of pediatric cardiac physicians and nurses in areas of need to treat babies and children. Learn more about our strategic approach here.
What is the cure for congenital heart disease?
The majority of babies born with CHD will need to undergo surgery within the first three years of life in order to survive. Often surgery is required during the newborn period (less than 30 days old) or infancy (less than 1 year old).
For children born with the most serious forms of CHD, the window of opportunity (within which a child’s life can be saved through surgical intervention) may be as small as 48 hours. Successful treatment of newborn babies is considered the “gold standard” in pediatric cardiac medicine – this is Heart to Heart’s goal for every team we train.
What happens to a child with CHD who does not receive timely treatment?
Each child born with a CHD has their own window of opportunity within which they can be successfully treated. Sadly, after that window has closed, children become inoperable – the disease progression can no longer be halted. As the heart disease inevitably progresses, a child’s quality of life steadily deteriorates, until premature death occurs. For some children, sudden death occurs.
Heart to Heart’s teaching and training are designed to enable new teams to treat children within their unique window of opportunity. Meet some of the children that Heart to Heart teams have saved here.