Epidemiological study of congenital heart defects in children and adolescents. Analysis of 4,538 cases.

Objective: To analyze the frequency and prevalence of congenital heart defects in a tertiary care center for children with heart diseases.

Methods: We carried out an epidemiological assessment of the first medical visit of 4,538 children in a pediatric hospital from January 1995 to December 1997. All patients with congenital heart defects had their diagnoses confirmed at least on echocardiography.