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Incidence of congenital heart disease: II. Prenatal incidence

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Abstract

The incidence of congenital heart disease appears to be about 1 per 100 liveborn infants. In infants who die before term, however, there is a much higher incidence of congenital heart disease, with a tendency for an excess of complex lesions. Some but not all of these lesions are associated with gross chromosomal abnormalities, which occur frequently in first-trimester abortions. Most of these chromosomal abnormalities are associated with such maldevelopment of many organ systems that fetal death occurs in utero. Monosomy X (45, XO), has a high association with congenital heart disease. Most fetuses with this abnormality die in utero, but because the abnormality is not inevitably lethal a small increase in survival of these fetuses would cause a large increase in the total incidence of congenital heart disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, Box 0544, HSE 1403, 94143, San Francisco, CA, USA

    J. I. E. Hoffman

  2. Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, Box 0544, HSE 1403, 94143, San Francisco, CA, USA

    J. I. E. Hoffman

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Hoffman, J.I.E. Incidence of congenital heart disease: II. Prenatal incidence. Pediatr Cardiol 16, 155–165 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00794186

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