Prevalence of congenital heart disease, Kanpur, India.

Our aim was to study the prevalence, age-wise distribution, and clinical spectrum of congenital heart disease (CHD) at a multi-speciality corporate hospital in North India. A retrospective analysis of records of 10,641 patients over a five-and-a-half year period was done. Clinical examination, echocardiography and color doppler were used as diagnostic tools. A prevalence of 26.4 per 1000 patients was observed. VSD (ventricular septal defect) was the commonest lesion (21.3%), followed by ASD (atrial septal defect) in 18.9% and PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) in 14. 6%. Tetralogy of Fallot was the commonest cyanotic heart disease (4.6%). Maximum number of children with heart disease (82.9%) were diagnosed between 0-3 years of age.