Mandate Congenital Heart Defect screening for all newborns born in the U.S.

Screening for congenital heart defects needs to be added to the panel of routine screening that all newborns undergo. 1 in 100 children are born with CHDs. They are the most common birth defect and the number one cause of birth defect related death, yet all newborns are not routinely screened for them after birth. This is causing babies to go undiagnosed. Every year nearly 1,500 babies are released from the hospital without being diagnosed. Of babies that die unexpectedly, it is found during autopsy that nearly 40% of them died from a previous undiagnosed congenital heart defect. These preventable deaths need to end now.