Five Facts about Congenital Heart Defects
(reposted article: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HeartDefects/)

Congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defects. They affect nearly 40,000 infants born in the US each year. Learn more about congenital heart defects.

- Did you know that congenital heart defects are common?

Congenital heart defects are conditions present at birth that affect how a baby's heart is made and the way it works. They are the most common type of birth defects. In the United States, about 40,000 infants are born with a heart defect each year.


- Did you know that some heart defects can be found before birth, some at birth, or some after a baby leaves the hospital?

Some congenital heart defects can be found before birth. Knowing if a baby has a heart defect before birth can help families plan for the future. Some heart defects can be found at birth, because they can cause a baby to have bluish tinted nails or lips or troubled breathing. Also, some heart defects potentially can be detected in babies soon after birth using pulse oximetry screening, which is a test to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood and pulse rate. Certain hospitals screen all babies soon after birth using pulse oximetry screening. However, pulse oximetry screening is not required in most states. Other heart defects might have no signs at birth and are not found until later in life, during childhood or even adulthood. If a health care provider (a doctor or nurse) thinks a congenital heart defect is present, the baby can have several tests to diagnose the defect.


- Did you know that congenital heart defects can greatly affect the finances not only of the families involved, but of everyone?

In the United States, hospital costs for people with a heart defect were about $1.4 billion in one year. Families and the government share the burden of these costs, which means that all taxpayers are affected. Other costs due to lost wages or work limitations can affect families and businesses as well.


- Did you know that people with congenital heart defects are living longer?

As medical care and treatments have advanced, infants with heart defects are living longer and healthier lives. Many now are living into adulthood. About one million adults in the United States are living with a congenital heart defect. It is important for children and adults living with a congenital heart defect to see a heart doctor regularly throughout their lives.


- Did you know that some congenital heart defects can be prevented?

The cause of most congenital heart defects is unknown. Some babies have heart defects because of changes in their genes or chromosomes. They also might be caused by a mix of genes and other risk factors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Birth Defects Prevention Study has found that women who are obese, have diabetes, or smoke during pregnancy increase their chances of having a baby born with a heart defect. A woman can take some important steps before and during pregnancy to help prevent congenital heart defects. She can work to get to and stay at a healthy weight, control diagnosed diabetes, quit smoking, and take folic acid daily. These actions can reduce the risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect.


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Location:Five Facts about Congenital Heart Defects

Chilling with Abi

Abi was learning to track letters on an iPad and I sang her and Art some songs. I picked up my guitar after a long break, well time to start playing again...:)

It was a sweet family moment that was beautifully captured by hubby.

J

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Merry Christmas

J
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Christmas memories 2011

*** making Christmas cookies with mommy***

















*** end result ***



*** first kick-boxing lesson with daddy***




The best part was Abi dancing with daddy and mommy by the tree.

Such sweet memories! Let's hope she remembers them,because they were pretty good! :)

J.

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La cuccaracha

No comments other than she was looking in the mirror all this time ;)

Art

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Abi's first potty time in a restaurant.

I'm so proud of my big girl. We have been trying to encourage her to tell us when she wants to go to potty before it's too late.
We have been practicing at home without the diaper. And here we are at Olive Garden and Abi tells me she wants 'peepee'. So I took her to a restroom and she managed to hold until she was sitting on the toilette. I was soo proud of her! She flashed and washed her hands and ran to daddy to tell him what she just did.
I don't have to mention she liked it a lot and we ended up going back there 2 more times :)

My baby girl is growing up. Thankfully I just bought her new pairs of cute underwear. :)

Yey. Potty training is becoming more fun! :)


Jo


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Cardiologist Appointment

As we have already mentioned, today was Abi's cardiologist appointment, first in 9 months. This was the first time we stretched the appointments so far.

The nurses were all excited about seeing little Abi after such a long break and were really surprised with how much she's grown.

First the nurse checked Abi's blood pressure and ran a quick EKG and then we talked to Dr. Greene. He was thrilled to see how Abi has changed and to learn about her day to day life. Abi let him listen to her heart and chatted with him about stickers and a prize neckless she was promised ;-)



















Next we moved on to heart echo. Once again Abi did great so it didn't take long at all to take great pictures and check everything.

After the echo Abi went for a walk to get more stickers so we could talk to her doctor.








Here's what we heard. Her blood pressure and EKG were perfect. Her heart sounded wonderful and the echo showed all functions of all 4 chambers, greater arteries, pulmonary baffle and the new aorta are GREAT!!!! Her Ebsteinoid tricuspid valve is holding up very well with very little regurgitation, so we talked about Abi most probably never needing it fixed, if it keeps doing as good as it's doing now.

All results came back as good as she had a healthy, never repaired heart!!!!

Next visit in 12 months and from now on, we will go to visits annually, unless there's something going on.

There is a chance Abi could develop arrhythmia due to scarring so this is something we will be monitoring over the years, but it's nothing to be concern about now.

We are so happy with the results of today's appointment and can't believe how blessed we are by this lil girl ;)

Art

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