Most people would think that heart disease in children is actually quite rare. In fact, congenital heart disease is one of the most common birth defects and it occurs in nearly 1% of infants. So it is a fairly common problem. More than that, it is the leading cause of death due to all birth defects, accounting for about a third of all deaths due to birth defects.

Daniel Bernstein, M.D., is the co-director of Children's Heart Center.