March 2021

Congenital malformations are the leading cause of infant mortality in developed countries, with critical congenital heart disease (C-CHD) being the major contributor to death and morbidity despite the development of specialized pediatric cardiac centers. C-CHD is defined as congenital heart disease requiring surgery or catheter intervention in the first year of life and constitutes 25% of CHD. Although CHD is the most common form of congenital malformation and occurs in 9 of every 1,000 live births,4 it is not always identified early and referred to a pediatric cardiologist. There is, therefore, a need for all cardiac sonographers, regardless of their pediatric experience, to be able to detect CHD and recognize those cases that are critical in nature