Proclaim February 7-14 Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) awareness week

Please proclaim February 7-14th Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week . Why? Becuase:
1. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects in the U.S.
2. About 1 in 100 babies will be born with CHD this year!
3. Approximately 1.8 million Americans ALIVE today, have a CHD
4. CHD’s claim approximately 3,600 lives a year
5. 40,000 babies annually are born with a CHD in the U.S. alone
6. CHD’s are the leading cause of infant deaths in U.S.
7. Cardiovascular deaths are the leading cause in children 15 and younger
8. More than 50% of children born with CHD’s will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime (most require multiple surgeries throughout their lifetime!)
9. Nearly twice as many children die from CHD’s than from all childhood cancers combined
10. 1 penny out of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association goes toward Congenital Heart Research. That’s 1%, yet its killing 3,600 people annually, and 40,000 people are born a year with this disease?! CHD’s are common and DEADLY and yet research is severely underfunded given the prevalence of the disease

If you were to pass this proclamation, you would give a voice to the thousuands of children born with this disease, who may go home undetected. Some may live, others will find out too late. Please help us raise awareness!