Oklahoma Health News powered by Oklahoma Children’s Hospital | Congenital Heart Disease

On Oklahoma Health News Presented by Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, Harold Burkhart, M.D., pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health, sits down with Jennifer Schultz, Senior Vice President of Marketing and External Relations for OU Health to discuss congenital heart disease.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a broad span of conditions in the heart that are typically diagnosed before a baby is born or early on in life. Approximately 500 Oklahoma children a year are diagnosed with CHD. For some of these children, the conditions are minimal and require no treatment. But others may require surgery, medication or both to treat their CHD, according pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health.

As advanced as we have become in treating these conditions, we still don’t know exactly why some kids develop them. Good prenatal care can help detect these conditions early and could help with prevention. OBGYNs can pick up abnormalities during ultrasounds, and neonatologists can also listen to baby’s heart soon after birth to notice irregularities.

The good news is, most cases of CHD are treatable, particularly at comprehensive programs like the one at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. Research conducted by our experts blazes a trail for novel therapies in the treatment of CHD, including for the treatment of conditions like hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Learn more about heart care for children at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital.