Rethinking newborn screening for critical congenital heart disease

MedicalXpress | Apr 24, 2026

Critical congenital heart diseases, or CCHDs, are a group of life-threatening structural heart defects present at birth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in four babies born with a heart defect has a CCHD, and treatment—medication and/or surgery—must take place within the first year of life.