‘Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day’ Feb. 14

‘Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day’ Feb. 14


Congregation B’nai Tikvah on Finnegans Lane in North Brunswick celebrated Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song, on Sunday Jan. 27. The Sons of Tikvah band provided the entertainment. From left to right: musical director Marty Angstreich on keyboard, vocalist Larry Cohen, bassist Hank Koenig, vocalist Nancy Danto, drummers Gary Tinkel and Norm Politziner, vocalist and emcee Cantor Bruce Rockman, and guitarists Jerry Silver and Jerry Shulman.Congregation B’nai Tikvah on Finnegans Lane in North Brunswick celebrated Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song, on Sunday Jan. 27. The Sons of Tikvah band provided the entertainment. From left to right: musical director Marty Angstreich on keyboard, vocalist Larry Cohen, bassist Hank Koenig, vocalist Nancy Danto, drummers Gary Tinkel and Norm Politziner, vocalist and emcee Cantor Bruce Rockman, and guitarists Jerry Silver and Jerry Shulman.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has announced the third annual "Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day" will be observed Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, during American Heart Month.

The day is designed to bring more attention to the effects of congenital heart defects on babies, infants and families, and to raise awareness about the need for more research funding, education and heart donors. According to the AHA, approximately 32,000 babies are born in the United States each year with heart and circulatory defects.

The Children’s Health Information Network (TCHIN), along with families, survivors, support groups, nonprofits, and health-care professionals and institutions, has formed an international coalition to annually observe Feb. 14 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day.

Heart disease, often thought of as a "man’s" or "older person’s" disease, is the No. 1 killer of Americans both male and female; however, heart disease, including congenital heart defects, also affects babies and infants.

There are approximately 35 known types of heart defects, and roughly one out of every 100 babies born in the United States is born with some type of congenital heart disorder. Besides being the No. 1 cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life, nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart defects in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined.

Although nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart disease compared with childhood cancers, research funding nationally for pediatric cancer is five times higher than funding for congenital heart disease research.

Brochures available from the AHA include "If Your Child Has a Congenital Heart Defect," "Feeding Infants with Congenital Heart Disease: A Guide for Parents," "Your Child’s Abnormal Heart Rhythm," and "You, Your Child and Rheumatic Fever."

To learn more about American Heart Month, call the American Heart Association at (800) AHA-USA1.