In one study, almost half of participating families had relocated to receive life-saving surgery during their child’s �rst year of life, leading to great �nancial dif�culties.iii

A NEW RESOURCE FOR FAMILIES OF KIDS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE

Almost 1 in every 110 children born in the United States will have a congenital heart defect.i That’s 40,000 babies a year.ii St. Jude Medical and Mended Little

Hearts wanted to help make a difference, so the organizations collaborated to create the Mended Little HeartGuide—an essential digital guidebook that provides families with information, tools, and support to help them navigate

such a dif�cult diagnosis.

Why is a resource like this so desperately needed? Read on to learn more.

• 18 doctors and healthcare professionals—along with parents of children with CHD—contributed content and information.

• 88 pages content-rich with information for parents and caregivers, from how to cope with guilt to �nancial considerations during a hospital stay.

• 16 helpful downloadable forms and checklists.

A TOO-COMMON DIAGNOSIS

8 out of every 1,000 babies born each year worldwide have a

heart defect.ii

Along with the 35 recognized types of heart defects, there

are also cardiac malformations with genetic causes—all ranging in severity

from non-harmful to very serious.ii

Death from CHD is the most common

cause of infant death resulting from birth defects, at 24%.ii

8 35HEART

DEFECTS1000

38%

2.6 BILLION

A HEAVY BURDEN

38% of families with children who have CHD experience psychosocial risk, such as higher rates

of emotional distress (compared to parents of

healthy children).iii

EXCESSIVE WORRY 51.3%

FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 41%

SADNESS OR DESPERATION 25.6%

iCenters for Disease Control and PreventioniiAmerican Heart Association 2011, MWA 5/11iiiHearps, Cardiology in the Young 2014

Mended Little Hearts is a trademark of The Mended Hearts, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, ™ indicates that the name is a trademark of, or licensed to St. Jude Medical or one of its subsidiaries. ST. JUDE MEDICAL and the nine-squares symbol are trademarks and service marks of St. Jude Medical, Inc. and its related companies. © 2015 St. Jude Medical, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SJM-COR-1015-0169 | Item approved global use.

In 2004, hospital costs for caring for children with CHD conditions totaled $2.6 billion—representing a signi�cant �nancial burden on the healthcare system.ii

HELP ARRIVES…IN A DIGITAL GUIDEBOOK

TO LEARN MORE VISIT MENDEDLITTLEHEARTGUIDE.ORG

24%

50% RELOCATE

% ! #*$;-(

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SJM.com/WeHeartKids