Congenital heart disease among school children in Alexandria, Egypt: An overview on prevalence and relative frequencies

A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and relative frequencies of congenital heart diseases diagnosed by echocardiography among school ch ildren in Alexandria, Egypt. The study was conducted during a 1-year period (1 May 1995-1 May 1996) at the Students' Health Insurance Hospital, which is a referral center for all health insurance units, providing an echocardi ography service. The prevalence of congenital heart diseases (CHD) among sc hool children accounted for 1.01/ 1000, There was a male predominance in ca ses of pulmonary stenosis and single ventricle, while in cases of patent du ctus arteriosus, mitral valve prolapse, and partial atrioventricular canal there was a female predominance. The commonest cardiac defects were ventric ular septal defects, pulmonary stenosis, and atrial septal defects. Pulmona ry stenosis ranked the second commonest defect and is a peculiar finding in our Egyptian population, The mere presence of these cardiac defects in sch ool children is an indicator of the poor quality of care provided to this g rowing childhood population.