Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital Heart Disease, also known as Congenital Heart Defects, refers to one or more structural issues present in the heart at birth.

There are various types of congenital heart disease, and an individual may have more than one defect. The severity can range from no symptoms or mild symptoms that don’t require treatment to serious conditions that require surgical intervention.

  • Commonly reported congenital heart diseases (CHD) in 8p Heroes include: Atrial Septal Defects, Ventricular Septal Defects, Pulmonary Stenosis, Patent Foramen Ovale, and Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
  • Less commonly reported CHDs include: Dextroposition of the Great Arteries, Double Outlet Right Ventricle, Hypoplastic Right Heart, Coarctation of the Aorta, Aortic Stenosis, Aortic Regurgitation, Ascending Aorta Dilation, Mitral Valve Prolapse, and an Enlarged Heart.

Congenital heart disease in 8p Heroes with an inversion/duplication/deletion tends to be minor and often resolves spontaneously, in contrast to 8p Heroes with a deletion, where the conditions may require more attention.

8p Hero’s should receive an Echocardiogram to assess for congenital heart disease.

If abnormalities are found they should be referred to a cardiologist.

Some congenital heart defects in children are simple and don’t need treatment. Others are more complex. The child may need several surgeries done over a period of several years.

Providers should follow standard practices for managing Congenital Heart Disease in individuals with a chromosome 8p disorder.

  1. Okur, Volkan, Chung, Wendy et al. “Clinical and Genomic Characterization of 8p Cytogenomic Disorders.” Genetics in Medicine, https://project8p.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/s41436-021-01270-2.pdf
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Other Cardiovascular Conditions

The following conditions have been reported by multiple independent sources; however, they have not yet been confirmed at the population level, and it is unclear if they are linked to chromosome 8p rearrangements. Providers should follow standard practices for managing the following conditions in individuals with a chromosome 8p disorder:

A form of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart. The symptoms typically develop gradually over time, and may go unnoticed for months or even years. As the condition worsens, the symptoms become more severe.

Abnormalities involving blood vessels that are usually present at birth but may not become noticeable until later in childhood or even adulthood. These malformations can occur anywhere in the body, from head to toe, and may present as a soft tissue mass, pain, swelling, and/or skin discoloration.

A condition where the heart rate exceeds 100 beats per minute. Symptoms may include palpitations, a fainting sensation, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, and reduced exercise capacity.

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This visualization is powered by research sponsored by Project 8p and survey data collected from the Chromosome 8p Registry, representing insights from a total of 120 8p heroes. It is part of the soon-to-launch Insights Portal, designed to offer advanced tools for data analysis, access, and visualizations, accelerating research and discovery for chromosome 8p disorders.

Add your piece to the puzzle

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.
  • Lead with knowledge from patients. Currently, there is no cure for 8p disorders, nor is there a standard course of treatment.

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Raise transformative funding for pioneering scientific research into treatments for a complex, rare disease involving 250+ affected genes on the short arm of the 8 th chromosome (8p). Rearrangements of these genes causes significant abnormalities to the entire neurological system, thus all organs and functions of the body– with variance in cognitive functions, gross motor skills, social development and other challenges during infancy, and throughout life;
  • Empower a unified community of 8p patients and their families so they can have meaningful lives today; and
  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.