Pediatric Cardiac Care in India: Current Status and the Way Forward

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common types of birth defects. Out of 100 children born around the world, one is expected to have CHD If access to screening, early diagnosis and treatment is available, the baby has a 95% chance of survival with good long-term outcome Such advanced care is practically unavailable to over 90% of babies born in developing countries, including India While one cardiac center caters to a population of approximately 120,000 in North America, in Asia, a population of 16 million people is served by one center In Africa, this ratio is one center per 33 million people Similarly, the number of cardiac surgeons per person is considerably better in North America and Europe (one cardiac surgeon per 3.5 million people) as compared with Asia (one cardiac surgeon per 25 million) These figures indicate the number of children born with CHD in Asia and Africa that have no or minimal access to healthcare, which ultimately results in a much higher child mortality rate compared with the rest of the world.