Climate Change may increase Congenital Heart Defects
January 31, 2019
Journal of the American Heart Association Report
Dallas, TX – Rising temperatures stemming from global climate change may increase the number of infants born with congenital heart defects (CHD) in the United States over the next two decades and may result in as many as 7,000 additional cases over an 11 year-period in eight representative states (Arkansas, Texas, California, Iowa, North Caroline, Georgia, New York and Utah), according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
The greatest percentage increases in the number of congenital heart defects are predicted in the Midwest, followed by the Northeast and the South. (American Heart Association)
