My clinical specialty is congenital heart defects (CHDs) in adolescents and adults, and CHD Awareness Week always hits close to home. I want to celebrate the incredible progress that academic health centers and medical schools have made for people with CHDs, which are the most common type of birth defects, affecting nearly 1%, or about 40,000, of births each year in the U.S.
Historically, very few people born with CHDs survived into adulthood - but today, they are living longer and healthier lives, with most surviving into adulthood. According to the American Heart Association, adults now outnumber children among the more than 2.4 million people living with CHDs in the U.S. - a testament to the value of academic medicine and research funding.
This #CHDWeek, let's honor the patients, their families, and the amazing physicians, researchers, and staff who constantly strive to better understand and treat CHDs. I celebrate you!
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David Skorton
President and CEO
Association of American Medical Colleges
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