percentage of babies with down syndrome who have heart defects
Congenital Heart Disease in Children with Down Syndrome. Children with Down syndrome are at a much higher risk for congenital heart disease. As a comparison: the incidence of congenital heart disease in the general population is 0.8 percent. The incidence of congenital heart disease in children with Down syndrome is between 40-60 percent. Some heart defects can be left alone with careful monitoring while others require surgery to correct the problem. The following types of heart defects in children with Down syndrome are discussed below.