February is Heart and Stroke Awareness Month. This is a cause that is, no pun intended, literally close to my heart. Each day, I will be posting facts about Heart and Stroke Awareness.
Today's fact directly affects me. Congenital Heart Defects are the most common birth defect, affecting 1 in 80 to 1 in 100 babies born every single year. These defects range from mild and not requiring treatment for years (and possibly never) to fatal within the first few days of life. I do consider myself fortunate to be on the mild end of the spectrum, dealing only with a bicuspid aortic valve and some very minor issues with some of the arteries and veins around my heart (including my aorta) being slightly off in measurement. Many babies are born with far worse including hypoplastic right or left hearts, which means that they in essence have only half a heart. Medical technology has progressed tremendously even in my lifetime of 22 years, but there is so much left to do in terms of increasing survival rates and increasing the quality of life of children and adults with the more severe forms of CHD.
I'm wearing red today to mark the first day of Heart and Stroke Awareness Month. Let's spread the word about all forms of heart disease and stroke, because knowledge is power.
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