CHENNAI: About 0.8 per cent of infants in the city are born with congenital heart diseases, according to Childs Trust Medical Research Foundation chairman Mathangi Ramakrishnan. But, there is a lack of awareness among parents and medical practitioners about such diseases, which can be cured at an early stage.

Addressing presspersons on Wednesday, Dr. Ramakrishnan said the level of awareness on paediatric heart diseases among people was low when compared to cardiac diseases among adults.

Though heart defects in infants could be detected during pregnancy, lack of trained personnel and awareness among parents and medical practitioners lead to delayed diagnosis, she said.

The Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital and Frontier Lifeline have collaborated to enable medical practitioners update their knowledge of congenital cardiac problems in children and new management strategies. Dr. Ramakrishnan said a training programme in clinical paediatric cardiology for postgraduate medical students from various parts of the country would be held at the hospital on Saturday.

On Sunday, a continuing national medical education programme on paediatric cardiology for doctors will be held at Hotel GRT Grand Days. The Millennium address on `Cardiac surgery in developing countries' by K.M. Cherian, cardio thoracic surgeon, Frontier Lifeline, will be part of the programme.

About 200 medical practitioners are expected to participate in the programme, which will have experts in paediatrics and paediatric cardiology as faculty.

Snehal Kulkarni, consultant paediatric cardiologist at the Frontier Lifeline, said about eight in every 1,000 infants in the city were born with heart defects. But 90 per cent are not diagnosed early. The Frontier Lifeline receives 300-500 children with different types of heart defects every month, she said.

Though such cardiac defects could be diagnosed during pregnancy through foetal echocardiography, several such diseases go undetected due to lack of awareness, Dr. Kulkarni said.

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