Jack died just two weeks before his 3rd birthday from complications due to Congenital Heart Defects. At birth, Jack's life expectancy was just one year but thanks to the wonderful doctors and care of the U of M Congenital Heart Center, Jack lived almost two years longer. In his memory we have organized this golf outing with your generous donations going to the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center. 100% of the donations will be earmarked in Jack's name for research.
Congenital Heart Defects is the most frequently occurring birth defect, and is the leading cause of birth-defect related deaths. For every dollar provided by the national medical funding arm of the American government, the National Institute of Health (NIH), only one penny is provided for pediatric research, and only a portion of that penny goes to support research on heart defects, the most common birth defect (Children's Heart Foundation).
As little as 25 years ago, the most severe forms of congenital heart disease were considered inoperable and fatal. Now these same lesions can be successfully treated. As survival has greatly improved, the research interests of our field have broadened beyond survival, to preventing the occurrence of these diseases and to optimizing the quality of life. The University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center (UMCHC) is one of the national leaders in this field. The UMCHC also directs basic and clinical research programs related to Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and other functional single ventricle lesions, cardiac transplantation, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, pulmonary and systemic hypertension, congestive heart failure, obesity, adults with congenital heart disease, and genetic regulation of cardiac development. Research is funded in part through the National Institutes of Health and industry grants, but there is an ever increasing need for private donations to support our research efforts. Through ongoing research, our goal is to improve the treatment of all patients with congenital heart disease throughout the world, not just at the University of Michigan.
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Want to learn more about Congenital Heart Defects? Be sure to click on the links below from the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center!
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