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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffCongenital heart disease often results from problems early in your development, often before you were born. Certain environmental and genetic risk factors may play a role in the development of your heart defect. They include:
- German measles (rubella). If your mother had rubella while pregnant, this could have affected your heart development.
- Diabetes. If your mother had type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it may have interfered with the development of your heart. Gestational diabetes generally doesn't increase the risk of developing a heart defect.
- Medications. Taking certain medications while pregnant is known to cause birth defects, including congenital heart defects. Medications that increase risk include the drug isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret), which is used to treat acne, and lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, a condition that causes intense mood swings or hypomania. Drinking alcohol while pregnant may also contribute to the risk of heart defects.
- Heredity. Congenital heart disease appears to run in families and is associated with many genetic syndromes. Half the children with Down syndrome — which is caused by an extra 21st chromosome (trisomy 21) — have heart defects. A missing piece (deletion) of genetic material on chromosome 22 also causes heart defects. Genetic testing can detect such disorders during a baby's development.
References
- What are congenital heart defects? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/chd/chd_what.html. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Congenital cardiovascular defects. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4565. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Beerman LB. Congenital Cardiovascular Anomalies. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec19/ch287/ch287a.html. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Pillutla P, et al. Mortality associated with adult congenital heart disease: Trends in the US population from 1979 to 2005. American Heart Journal. 2009;158:874.
- Mettler BA, et al. Congenital heart disease surgery in the adult. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:1021.
- Bernstein D. Developmental biology of the cardiovascular system. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1117823327&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50422-9&isbn=978-1-4160-2450-7&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50422-9&uniqId=235477645-9. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Webb GD, et al. Congenital heart disease. In: Libby P, et al, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1117828709&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec7&uniqId=235477645-12. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Anderson KP. The changing epidemiology of ventricular arrhythmias. Cardiology Clinics. 2008;26:321.
- Lifestyle changes for heart failure. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartFailure/PreventionTreatmentofHeartFailure/Lifestyle-Changes-for-Heart-Failure_UCM_306341_Article.jsp. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Coping with feelings. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/CardiacRehab/Coping-with-Feelings_UCM_307092_Article.jsp. Accessed Feb. 14, 2011.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 18, 2011.
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