Incidence
Congenital heart diseases are seen in about 8-10 babies out of 1000 live births.
About 2 to 3 (or one-third) of the 1000 will require some interventional procedures within their first year as their condition will be deemed critical by the pediatric cardiologists.
Studies show that in the United States, nearly 32000 babies with congenital heart diseases are born every year and about one million people are alive today with these heart defects.
In India, incidence of congenital defects can be enormous owing to its huge population and high birth rate. About ten percent of infant deaths are likely to be due to congenital heart disease.
Most common congenital defect in neonates is “Ventricular Septal Defect”. It is found one in every 100 patients. It rarely occurs in adults, but can happen as a serious complication of a heart attack.
Approximately 4 out of 100,000 people are known to have Atrial Septal Defect. It constitutes about 6 - 8 % of the congenital heart diseases. For reasons unknown, ASD occurs more in girls than boys. Female to male ratio is about 2:1. ASD can go undetected until the patient is an adult. It constitutes upto 40% of the congenital heart diseases diagnosed in adults.
