Global Prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease at High Altitude ~9 Percent
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Sept. 26, 2024 -- The global prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) at high altitude is 8.97 percent, according to the results of a review presented at the American College of Cardiology Latin America 2024, held from Sept. 19 to 21 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Jean Pierre Eduardo Zila Velasque, from Red Latinoamericana de Medicina en la Altitud e Investigación in Peru, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to globally characterize CHD in populations based at different altitudinal levels.
Based on data from 22 studies (roughly 1.18 million participants from eight different countries), the researchers found that the prevalence of CHD in the general population was 8.97 percent and was higher in women. The global prevalence varied by altitude: 6.80 percent at 1,500 to 2,500 m, 14.47 percent at 2,500 to 3,500 m, 7.26 percent at 3,500 to 4,500 m, and 1.52 percent at 4,500 m. Atrial septal defect (29.9 percent) was the most frequent heart disease. Rural environments (7.86 percent), native people (12.70 percent), and American countries (32.44 percent) showed higher prevalence.
"The evidence on congenital heart disease is underestimated and underdiagnosed; due to, poor access to the health system or health systems without the essential tools that are characteristic of high-altitude environments; raising concerns that we are likely facing much higher altitude-associated congenital heart disease values than is known," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2024
Read this next
Helping Others Linked to Higher Level of Cognitive Function
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Helping others, both via formal volunteering and informal helping, is associated with higher levels of cognitive function and slower cognitive decline...
TAR-200 Monotherapy Promising for BCG-Unresponsive Bladder Cancer
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- For patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), an intravesical...
Work-Related Income Drops for Parents of Children Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Work-related income decreases sharply for mothers and fathers of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, with similar effects across sociodemographic...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.