What is congenital heart disease?
Congenital heart disease simply means that a baby is born with some type of abnormality of the heart. There is a wide variety of different types of congenital heart disease; ranging from some forms that can be very serious and require urgent treatment in the newborn period to minor problems that may resolve on their own.

What causes congenital heart disease?
Development of the heart is a very complicated process. We are just now beginning to understand some of the basic mechanisms involved, but the answers will depend on future research in this area.

What is a heart murmur?
A heart murmur simply means that we hear an extra sound when we listen to the heart. There are many types of heart murmurs. Most structural heart abnormalities cause specific types of murmurs. However, not every murmur is a sign of a heart problem, especially in children. A heart murmur can be a completely normal sound (in that case, we call it an innocent or normal heart murmur).

Can heart problems be detected in my unborn baby?
For women with certain risks or problems detected by their obstetrician, special fetal echocardiograms can be performed to evaluate the baby's heart while in the womb. Your obstetrician can advise you as to whether or not a fetal echocardiogram might be necessary.

Can "minimally invasive" heart surgery be performed on children?
Our pediatric cardiac surgeons at NYU are doing more and more less invasive heart surgery in children. In many cases, open-heart surgery is being safely and successfully performed in children through a very small incision in the chest. These approaches help produce faster recovery and a very small scar. Whether or not these techniques can be used depend on the specific problem that needs to be treated and size of the child.

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