Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Screening

Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Screening

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect. Approximately eight of every 1,000 infants born have a form of CHD. Some forms of CHD cause no or very few problems in the health, growth, and development of the infant. However, critical CHD can bring a significant risk of morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed soon after birth.

Most babies born with critical CHD appear healthy at first, therefore all infants should be screened. The test should be performed after the infant turns 24 hours of age, or when medically appropriate if the infant was born prematurely.

Pulse oximetry is a simple, quick, non-invasive and painless test that is used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood. Infants with critical CHD may have low levels of oxygen in their blood.