Congenital heart defect

I hooked Jay up with my cousin, my wife's cousin, Ellen, who's like – they're like sisters.

And Jay has donated the product to the Brett Boyer Foundation for Redbird Games, which is a fundraiser for – AHD, CHD, congenital heart disease, with a focus on Down syndrome.

And Jay himself is actually coming up there, and it's going to be an interesting deal.

It's a bunch of private concerts, interesting deal.

Welcome

in to Running Mouse with Heart Disease, CHD.

I'm your host and coach, Josh.

Thanks for being here with me.

You regularly demand the absolute impossible from your body.

Right.

But you're also living with congenital heart disease or CHD.

So your unique medical journey didn't start when you like laced up your first pair of trail shoes.

From navigating heart journeys to juggling the chaos of parenting and embracing the big, sometimes scary life transitions, this space is for the brave and tender-hearted.

Whether you're deep in the trenches of motherhood, navigating a CHD diagnosis, or just here for a little solidarity and storytelling, you're in the right place.

I hope you find a sense of community and belonging here.

Grab your coffee, take a deep breath, and let's walk this road together one heartbeat at a time.

... that they're thriving in that way.

So I'd love to get into a little bit more about you receiving your medical diagnosis as well.

I think it's, you know, this is such a heavy weight that we carry as parents of raising children who are more medically complex or have additional needs, um, and cares and to just, you know, obviously the life of CHD is, is ongoing.

Even if we are in a stable state, we always know that, you know, we're planning and preparing and anticipating that things could potentially change in the future.

I'm Samantha.

Our pregnancy series continues today with a topic that reflects one of the great successes of modern medicine, congenital heart disease in pregnancy.

Children born with heart defects who once rarely survived are now growing up, and many of them are women hoping to become mothers.

Today, we'll discuss how to assess and diagnose congenital heart disease in pregnancy, which conditions are dangerous, the complications, treatment, and the food and precautions every woman should know.

My guest is senior interventional cardiologist, author, and educator, and founder of the Academy of Elite Doctors, Dr.

AM Thrunyanam.

This is a topic of growing importance.

Around one in every hundred babies is born with a congenital heart defect.

From navigating heart journeys to juggling the chaos of parenting and embracing the big, sometimes scary life transitions, this space is for the brave and tender-hearted.

Whether you're deep in the trenches of motherhood, navigating a CHD diagnosis, or just here for a little solidarity and storytelling, you're in the right place.

I hope you find a sense of community and belonging here.

Grab your coffee, take a deep breath, and let's walk this road together one heartbeat at a time.

You worried about dying during surgery and about whether you would somehow be different afterwards.

Having grown up knowing what your Aunt Victoria had been through with her heart, do you think your family's experience with CHD affected the fears that you had about your own surgery?

I think so, at least to an extent.

I have memories of my dad would take us to Disneyland every summer that Grandma and Grandpa came out, and Aunt Victoria would tag along.

And they remind us how important it can be to listen to our bodies, ask questions, seek answers, and advocate for ourselves and the people we love.

Before we let our guests go, we want to thank each of you for being part of this conversation.

Heidi, thank you for sharing what it was like to discover your CHD at 18 and for helping us understand the fear, adjustment, and importance of family support that came with such a sudden change in your life.

Thank you for having me.