“A Day for Hearts: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day”
February 14th
Celebrating the life of every survivor and honoring the memory of those who have been lost.
Why is CHD Awareness Day so Important?
To bring more attention to the devastating impact of congenital heart defects on infants, children, teens, adults and their families and to raise awareness about the need for more research funding, education, and support services.
February is National Heart Month, but the focus rests primarily on adults with acquired heart disease and not on Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). The needs of CHD families and professionals are not being addressed. On February 14th, Connecticut and virtually every other state in the United States will celebrate "A Day For Hearts - Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day." Government officials throughout the world have proclaimed this very special day. Families intend to bring awareness to the general public about Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). It is our sincere hope that efforts to educate the public will result in additional funding for scientific research, support and educational services and early detection and screening.
When thinking of heart disease the misconception that seems to persist is that heart disease is an “older person’s disease.” BUT, what most people do not realize is the impact of heart disease/congenital heart defects, on families. We hear and see so much about adult heart disease, and are rightly concerned with effective treatment. BUT how many people are aware of Congenital Heart Defects? Did you know that CHD is the number one birth defect and the number one cause of death from birth defects? Did you know that one out of a hundred (1/100) babies are born each year with CHD?
There are 1,000,000 or more Americans alive today that were born with congenital heart defects. How serious are the heart defect problems among babies? Besides being the number one cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life, nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart defects in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined. Things are improving. In the 1960s and 1970s as many as 30 percent of babies died following congenital heart surgery and today nearly 95 percent of babies survive congenital heart surgery.
Led by The Children’s Heart Information Network, families, individuals, support groups, health care professionals and health care institutions have joined together to form an international coalition to annually observe February 14 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day. Observed in every state in the country as well as foreign countries such as Canada, England, Italy, France, Singapore, Australia, Mexico, and Ireland, the message of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day is the need for: more research funding, more heart donors, more early detection and intervention, and more awareness, education and support about an issue that impacts so many families in Connecticut and throughout the country.
Please help support our awareness campaign and join us this year in raising awareness of this issue, promoting research, educating the public and medical practitioners.
To receive an invitation to Connecticut's CHD AWARENESS DAY Celebration, click here |
