What Causes Congenital Heart Defects?

The vast majority of congenital heart defects have no known cause. Mothers will often wonder if something they did during the pregnancy caused the heart problem. In most cases, nothing can be attributed to the heart defect. Some heart problems do occur more often in families, so there may be a genetic link to some heart defects. Some heart problems are likely to occur if the mother had a disease while pregnant and was taking medications, such as anti-seizure medicines or the acne medication isotretinoin. However, most of the time, there is no identifiable reason as to why the heart defect occurred.

Congenital heart problems range from simple to complex. Some heart problems can be watched by the baby's doctor and managed with medicines, while others will require surgery, sometimes as soon as in the first few hours after birth. A baby may even "grow out" of some of the simpler heart problems, such as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) or atrial septal defect (ASD), since these defects may simply close up on their own with growth. Other babies will have a combination of defects and require several operations throughout their lives.