Raising Awareness

I have been doing some thinking. I think part of the reason God has given me the gift of Drew is to help raise awareness in my own little circle about Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs). And hopefully, this awareness will spread to other circles.

Here are some facts:

CHD is an anomaly of the heart that is present at birth. CHD’s cause one or more portions of the heart to develop abnormally.

At least 35 distinct forms recognized.(There is no known cause for CHD, although genetics is the number one suspect)

CHD is the # 1 birth defect and is the leading cause of birth-defect related deaths…(While it is the most common birth defect, it is the least publicized.)

CHD strikes children without regard to economic level, ethnic origin, sex, geographic location or religious beliefs.40,000 infants are born with CHD each year in the U.S.(Still, newborns are not screened for CHD’s.)

Some babies may be diagnosed before birth or at birth, some not until days, weeks, months or even years later. Sadly, too many are not diagnosed until after death.

Undiagnosed CHD’s and Childhood Onset Heart Disease cause many cases of Sudden Cardiac Death in young athletes.(Despite these statistics, teen-aged athletes are not routinely screened for CHD’s.)

There are 1.2 million children and adults with CHD alive today(CHD affects not only patients, but also entire families.)

If you are interested in helping or learning more, please visit the following sites:

http://www.chdawareness.org/

http://tchin.org/

http://www.savinglittlehearts.com/

I missed CHD Awareness Week this year, but that will not happen again. Please join me in raising awareness about this critical issue. Thank you.