HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Every 15 minutes, a baby is born in the United States with a congenital heart defect.
Congenital heart defects, also known as CHDs, are problems present at birth that affect the structure and function of the heart.
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A quarter of all babies born with a CHD will need surgery or other interventions in order to survive their first year of life.
With CHDs expected to impact more than 40,000 babies in the U.S. alone this year, The Children's Heart Foundation is working to advance the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of congenital heart defects.
Tuesday, advocate Lacey Berlau and her daughter Charlotte, who herself was born with a CHD, joined Eyewitness News' Chaz Miller to talk about what every parent should know about these birth defects.
Watch the video above to learn more about CHDs.
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They were also joined by Texas Children's Hospital clinical nurse coordinators Melissa Lewellen Smith and Melissa Domino, both of whom are among the honorees of The Children's Heart Foundation's first-ever Texas gala in Houston.
The Houston Has Heart Gala will be held on April 7 at Hotel Zaza, 5701 Main St., in the Museum District. Click here for ticket information.
Click here to donate to The Children's Heart Foundation