Unrecognized congenital heart disease in rural school-age children: getting to the root of the problem

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is an important contributor to morbidity and mortality in children, and the global burden of this illness has raised unique challenges to the healthcare system China is among the countries with the highest burden of this disorder despite having achieved huge advances in cardiac surgery or interventional therapies in CHD during the past two decades Interestingly and unexpected is the lower prevalence rate of CHD reported in China. The prevalence of CHD at live birth is estimated to be 9.4 per 1000 worldwide 4. However, this figure is much lower in China, with only 4.9 per 1000 live births between 2015 and 2019