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Babies With Congenital Heart Defects Live Longer, Study Shows

by Savitha C Muppala on Jan 9 2007 8:17 PM

The number of adults suffering severe heart problems due to birth defects has gone up by 85% from 1985 to 2000 a study showed, indicating the benefits of evolved methods of diagnosis and surgery that has assisted in better diagnosis and treatment, thus extending the life span of such patients.

Congenital heart defects are capable of impeding blood flow to the heart and vessels, in turn disrupting the supply of oxygen to the body. Marelli and colleagues from the McGill Adult Unit for Congenital Heart Disease studied medical records of patients which revealed that almost one among 250 adults and one in 85 children suffered a congenital heart defect.

Researchers owed the increase in the number of birth defects to better diagnosing techniques like cardiac ultrasound and surgical procedures. People who suffer congenital heart abnormalities are at risk for several types of heart disease later in life. Therefore it is important that cardiologists and pediatricians with experience in heart defects should come together to accord better treatment for patients as they become adults.

The findings were made public by the American Heart Association in their journal.



Source-Medindia
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