“What are the causes of congenital heart diseases?”
My baby was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease, and it completely blindsided our family. Neither me or my husband have a history of these diseases, or not that we are aware of. Is there a genetic cause to these diseases? What other things cause this disease to develop?
1 Answer
Most congenital heart disease has a hereditary component. Most parents with children born with congenital heart disease have no history of congenital heart disease, but carry silent genes which can be passed to a child. Multiple mutated genes are required to cause congenital heart disease. In most cases the risk that a 2nd baby would be born with with heart disease is quite low-about 2-3% depending on the type of heart disease. Parents who were themselves born with heart disease have a much high recurrence, depending on the type of heart disease. Most heart disease is detectable in pregnancy with ultrasonography.
