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Adopt a Duck for CHD-UK
in The Great British Duck Race, to be held on the 5th September 2010 (due to circumstances beyond their control, it has been necessary to postpone the race until further notice)
All donations from the Adopt a Duck will be given to Big Love Little Hearts (CHD-UK will be receiving none of it)
Click here to Adopt a Duck
We are working with Big Love Little Hearts in regard to a child who needs vital heart surgery and the family need money for the travel and accommodation as ICHF have stepped in and said they would do the operation for free.
Please make a donation and support our work.
We are 100% supported by the general public's donations..
This is so that we can continue to keep CHD-UK up and running whilst educating, raising awareness and support for Congenital Heart Defects.
CHD-UK's First ever interview.
Interview with TechniCavita
Organ Donor Register:
In memory of:
Lewis Prior and Zoe Chambers
If you haven't signed up to become a donor yet, then please click on the 'Signed up yet?' picture
The founder of CHD-UK was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) known as TGA (Transposition of the Great Arteries). Through her own experiences she knows that the need for increased awareness of CHD is essential, which is why CHD-UK was set up: to raise awareness and educate people about this number one birth defect.
Anyone who has or knows someone affected by a CHD is welcome, as is anyone who doesn't but would like to show their support and/or find out more about this defect. It is not solely for the UK as we would like to help as many people as possible. It affects people all around the world.
Our aims are to educate and raise awareness as well as promoting the need for testing prior to birth. Also, the media needs to get more interested in what it means to be born with a CHD and inform the general public more about it. Just imagine that you work with people every day and never noticed that they have a heart defect or went through major surgery. You wouldn't know just by looking at the person. CHD is not visible, our scars are hidden.
Statistics of Congential Heart Defects
Congenital Heart Defects, also known as CHD's are the #1 birth defect in UK affecting 8/1000 live births, this does not count all the children lost in pregnancy to CHD's (1)
There are 35 medically recognised CHD's. List of CHD's which includes associated CHD's
CHD's are the #1 cause of DEATH from a birth defect, killing twice as many children as cancer every year.
Congenital Heart Defects are not always found during pregnancy or at birth, many are not found till childhood, adolescence, adulthood, or after death when it is to late.
Many Dr's believe that CHD's are genetic, although most people know nothing of Heart Defects till they have a child born with one.
New studies are showing that Painkillers and Antidepressants taking before and during pregnancy can raise the risk of having a CHD child.
CHD's can not be cured, the heart must be monitored throughout life. Most will need multiple open heart surgeries, some may even need a heart transplant.
Babies born with CHD's may need their first open heart surgery at just a few hours or days old.
It has been estimated thatt there are currently 250,000 adults with CHD in the UK, approximately 1,000,000 in the US and similar numbers in proportional terms in Europe and the rest of the world. (2)
If you don't know someone with a CHD sooner or later you will !
References:
(1) Dr vonder muhill is a joint Royal Brompton-University of Toronto fellow in Adult Congenital Heart Disease/Defect.
(2) Webb GD and Williams RG (2001) 32nd Bethesda Conference: care of the adult with congenital heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 37: 1161-1198
The Faces behind CHD
You could walk straight past any one of us (from this slideshow) in the street and you wouldn't realise we have a heart defect
CHD-UK is working together with CHD-NI (CHD-Northern Ireland) http://www.chd-ni.co.uk/default.html which is set up with the aim to provide support through hospital visits and setting up local support groups and to provide information and support to parents with heart children and their families. 