According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 1% of babies are born with congenital heart defects in the U.S. each year. Many congenital heart defects are diagnosed before birth, soon after birth or during early childhood. Other types of heart conditions may not be diagnosed until adulthood. Some defects are repaired by surgery during childhood but require advanced surgery during adolescence or adulthood. Through advanced surgeries and medical care available at places like Golisano Children's Hospital, more and more people who are born with heart defects go on to live long and healthy lives.
Similarly, adults who have congenital heart disease require special care.
Congenital heart disorders have different symptoms in different people, but symptoms may include:
Treatment depends on the specific abnormalities in the heart walls, the heart valves, and the large blood vessels of the heart. Surgery can address certain defects, such as closing holes in the heart valve, implanting artificial heart valves and creating new conduits to direct the flow of blood from the heart.
At UR Medicine Cardiac Care, we pay special attention to adults who have congenital heart disease. Our team of surgeons, cardiologists, and pediatric cardiologists all work together to offer advanced treatment, from surgical and non-invasive procedures to imaging and monitoring, all designed to improve the lives of adult survivors of congenital heart disease.
UR Medicine also has the only pediatric cardiac surgeons in the region that encompasses Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany. Our pediatric cardiac surgery team is one of the leading teams in the country, able to perform nearly every advanced pediatric cardiac surgery technique available.