Heart Month

February is Heart Month and the 7th-14th is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Week. CHD Awareness Week is an annual awareness effort to help educate the public about congenital heart defects. 

Approximately one per cent of babies are born with congenital heart defects, wherein the structure of the heart is abnormal. One in four of these babies have critical defects that usually require a procedure or corrective surgery in infancy and some can be fatal if not recognized and treated promptly in the newborn period. Our repository is full of resources for treating and managing CHD in the emergency department (ED).

Some notable resources available on trekk.ca:

• A CHD podcast created by Emergency Medicine Cases and Drs. Gary Joubert and Ashley Strobel, TREKK content advisors. The podcast outlines some key actions, pearls and pitfalls of managing CHD with the goal of learning a practical approach to managing the condition in the ED. 
• Rapid Review series by Emergency Medicine Cases, a quick facts video with the objective to develop a simple approach to CHD using age, colour and bedside tests. Part 2 of the Rapid Review series looks at the investigations and management of CHD emergencies. 
• Dr. Gary Joubert's best case ever – a four month old infant who presents with intermittent cyanosis. 

You can find all of these resources linked here.

Lastly, our algorithm for managing a critically ill neonate has a fantastic section on the considerations for an ill neonate. Could it be the heart? If so, what are the immediate steps for management? Find the answers in our resources linked here.