What is congenital heart disease?

  Congenital heart disease is the most common type of congenital malformation, accounting for about 28% of all kinds of congenital malformations. It refers to the anatomical structure abnormalities caused by formation disorders or developmental abnormalities of the heart and large blood vessels during embryonic development, or the failure to close channels that should be closed automatically after birth (which is normal in the fetus). The incidence of congenital heart disease is not to be underestimated, accounting for 0.4% to 1% of births, which means that 150,000 to 200,000 new congenital heart disease patients are born each year in China. The spectrum of congenital heart disease is particularly broad, including hundreds of specific subtypes, some patients can be combined with a variety of malformations, symptoms vary widely, the lightest can be asymptomatic for life, and the most severe cases are born with serious symptoms such as hypoxia, shock and even premature death. According to the hemodynamic and pathophysiological changes, congenital heart disease can be classified as cyanotic or non-cyanotic, and can also be divided into three categories according to the presence or absence of shunts: no shunt (e.g. pulmonary stenosis, aortic constriction), left-to-right shunt (e.g. atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus) and right-to-left shunt (e.g. tetralogy of Fallot, large vessel dislocation).  A small number of patients with congenital heart disease have a chance of self-healing before the age of 5 years, and a small number of patients with mild malformations that do not significantly affect circulatory function and do not require any treatment, but most patients require surgical treatment to correct the malformations. With the rapid development of medical technology, the effect of surgery has been greatly improved. At present, most patients can recover as normal as normal people if they are treated with surgery in time, and their growth and development will not be affected, and they can be able to perform their ordinary work, study and life needs.