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Each year over 40,000 children are born in
the United States with a congenital heart defect, of which
30,000 will require corrective surgery. Open heart surgery
has become a common daily practice in our country, but mortality
rates for children undergoing these types of operations are
far higher than in adults.
The Foundation for Heart Science, lead by
Dr. Baker's research team at the Medical
College of Wisconsin, is actively investigating the challenge
of protecting children's hearts during surgical repair of
cyanotic congenital birth defects. Children with cyanotic
defects have low oxygen levels in their blood and are commonly
referred to as "blue babies." Dr. Baker's research
team is the only group in the United States actively studying
ways to improve protection of the cyanotic child's heart during
surgical repair.
Results of these studies will improve our
understanding of how cyanotic children adapt to low oxygen
levels and how this adaptation can be applied to protect the
heart during surgical repair.
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