Worldwide, over a million infants are born every year with congenital heart disease—heart defects that exist at birth. In addition, millions more children around the world are affected by a life-threatening heart condition that can result from a fairly common infection and which can lead to eventual heart failure—a condition called rheumatic heart disease.

While most serious heart defects can now be corrected or improved through surgery and modern medical advancements, many children who are born—especially those in lower socioeconomic regions—are denied life-saving heart operations simply because their families cannot afford it.

This is why Pendants for a Cause chooses to help these children obtain the critical surgeries they need by donating to NGOs that are focused on developing sustainable strategies to provide care to those most in need.

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Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
– Fast Facts –

• Common examples of congenital heart defects (CHDs) include holes in the inside walls of the heart and narrowed or leaky valves.
• In severe forms, blood vessels or heart chambers may be completely missing, poorly formed, and/or in the wrong place.
• CHDs are the most common birth defects.
• CHDs occur in almost 1% of all births.
• Nearly 40,000 infants just in the U.S. are born each year with CHDs.
• CHDs are about 30 times more common than cystic fibrosis and 50 times more common than childhood cancer.
• In the United States, approximately 2.4 million individuals are estimated to be currently living with CHD.

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Source: World Health Organization