January 26, 2010 Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most
common birth defects in humans, affecting 8 per 1000 live births
with one third of affected children requiring intervention in
early infancy. Increasing numbers of survivors combined with
developmental expectations for independence, behavioral self-
regulation and academic achievement have led to a growing
identification of neurobehavioral symptoms in some survivors. A
study now suggests that a cooling technique often used in heart
operations does not impair neurological outcomes. Congenital
heart disease and its treatment were originally thought to
potentially increase neurologic injury in these patients. The
technique of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) is used
in order to repair these congenital cardiac defects by providing
a bloodless surgical field, which may facilitate completion of
the best physiologic repair, and decrease the duration of blood
exposure to the bypass circuit. However, it involves a period of
reduced blood flow in the