Congenital-Heart-Disease Books

This book was so great! I cried, laughed, and was so deeply moved I was loathe to close the book. Great!

The book was in excellent shape and was received within 2 days! The book is wonderful by the way, a warm read.

This book is not just for parents of children with special needs. The lessons learned by the author and her family and the details of their struggle are beautifully written. Reading this book nudges the reader to think about the blessings of children and the trials of daily life in a new way. A wonderful, inspiring book!

Jeanne McDermott paints an inspiring portrait of her own family, forced to understand and live with the trials and hardships that accompany a child born with Apert Syndrome. She tells the story of Nathaniel with grace and candor informing the reader along the way with insights into the medical, genetic and developmental aspects of this condition. I cried with her pain and embraced her joys through the trials and triumphs of this journey. For anyone who has had a child born with a medical condition this is a must read.

I love this book. My 2 1/2 year old son went through four surgeries in his life time and I can so relate to the recall of ICU's and operating rooms. My son also has a form of dwarfism and will be different. I love her philosophy, so much peace and forgiveness to stranger's rudeness! She has so eloguently speak of the growth that any parent of child with differences have experienced. Babyface will be kept close to my heart forever and I recommend this book to all parents who are struggling with the challenge of bring up a child with a difference. In time, you too will gather the strength and peace demonstrated so well and articulated by Ms. McDermott.

Max Gerber's book has filled a space for many in highlighting and even celebrating people growing up with heart defects. It helped remind my son that he's not alone in his experience, well worth having

I recently bought this book out of curiosity really. My baby was recently born with Transposition of the Great Arteries, VSD and PS. This book allows me to take a look inside the lives, a voyeur if you will, of children growing up with CHD. It is inspiring and gives us "new" parents in the heart community hope of seeing our babies grow and flourish. Max Gerber has put into pictures and words exactly what heart parents are looking for to dream the dream of seeing their children progress and thrive! Thanks MAX!!

Hi, I am "A Mom with a thirst for truth & knowledge"...

This book is a great book of photography and excerpts from each child and family. It highlights children growing up with congenital heart disease (CHD). Their personal accounts reveal their true feelings and by sharing their personal experiences, have inadvertently shown others how they have handled their own lives through extraordinary situations. These children and their families are an inspiration through their bravery and willingness to share their lives with the world.

Max has captured each subject magnificently through his excellent expertise and very revealing photography.

Hopefully this book will help bring about awareness to the many people who do not realize that Congenital Heart Defects are the number 1 birth defect in children. This beautiful book will help get that awareness out there and consequently help others with CHD!

Thanks for putting this book together Max, I appreciate all your hard work and I'm sure, many frustrations, that you have gone through over the past few years in compiling the materials for this book. I know and feel that your book will be a wonderful success and that the ultimate goal for this book will be an instrument of hope that gives other parents and children with CHD an understanding to those who have not experienced it.

My recommendation is that you purchase this elegant book of photography... experience it for yourself, share it with your children and families and enjoy it as much as I have.

this book is stunningly photographed and full of moving personal stories. it's inspiring and real. an utterly wonderful book.

Wow........I got this book for my almost 10 year old son. He has TOF/DORV, had tons of complications, ending up in PICU for a year and emerging with lots of "accessories" including a trach, ventilator, oxygen, gtube, pacemaker and nurse 24/7. He has been without those lovely things (except the pacer) for many years now, but is starting to come to the realization that his life is different than many of his friends. Not tons different, but different. He has loved Camp Del Corazon, and we got this for him to continue to help him see that there are lots of kids who have had similar experiences.

So last night I grabbed it at 11:30pm and started flipping through it.....I was engrossed. I didn't put it down until 1:30am and I was in tears and very prayerful. Sometimes even with all that we have been through, and all the support he needs, I get caught up in the laundry, bills, shuttling kids to ballet/golf/physical therapy, and don't really remember how complicated and beautiful and terrifying his life is. How varied and amazing these kids are, yet they are tied together with such similar life experiences. This book, in it's beautiful (though solemn) photographs and words of the children and their parents, put on paper what we have known for years. That despite these struggles, these differences, this identity as the "heart kid", that these kids can find their own way in life and are richer and more compassionate for it.

Max Gerber did an amazing job with this book, and gave all of our kids a wonderful gift. It lets them meet other children and see the range of experiences in families dealing with various CHDs. This is a MUST BUY for you and your child. I am buying it as gifts for our Ped Cardiologist, and other families I know who are dealing with this as well. Bravo.

After my 5 year old son was diagnosed with AVSD, I engrossed myself into extensive research about his condition. While I discovered many other books with great information, I found this one to be the most inclusive, definitive and easy to interpret. The Q&A are broken down under each chapter specifically dealing with certain attributes one might be facing with a diagnoses; not all,but most of my questions were answered after reading this book. Highly, highly recommended.
J.B.

I loved the question/answer format of this book. It made an overwhelming and complicated topic far more understandable. I wish this book had been available when our son was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Vessels 12 years ago. We had so many questions, and while the doctors and nurses were super, a resource like this would have been invaluable becuase the questions don't stop when you finally leave the hospital! I'm sure the authors will keep the book as up-to-date as possible, but just know that cutting edge research is improving the methods of diagnosing and treating chd's every day. So, if the treatment protocol your doctor recommends isn't listed, don't panic. You might be benefiting from the latest research! When our son had his surgery, the Arterial Switch operation, which is now standard procedure, was only being done at a handful of hospitals around the country. Kids born with chd's today have a much better outlook thanks to the advances made by research. And, with more research, tomorrow will be even better.

My new born daughter was recently diagnosed with Complex Congential Heart Defects and naturally I wanted to learn as much as I could about the topic. I purchased several related boks through Amazon.com and founf this one to be very relevant and answered lots of appropriate questions for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about Heart Defects of any type. It is very thorough and covers every defect I am aware of.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a child that has a congenital heart defect. This book is easy to read and explains anything and everything you need to know about a heart defect.

My husband and I searched everywhere for answers. This book answered all our questions.

We have a non-profit for congenital heart defects. This is the book we tell all parents to get!!...

My son Noah was diagnosed in-utero with a VSD and at the age of 9 days received his first sonogram and EKG. The VSD closed - confirmed at his 1-year appointment, but was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis at this same appointment. This book guides one through diagnosis, parental coping, issues/caring for the newly born, answers many of your obvious and not so obvious questions, surgery - what to expect/how to prepare and the likely impact your childs' condition may have on his/her life basis current knowledge. It also is full of annecdotal stories from parents that are going through the same thing you are as well as commentary from pediatric cardiologists. Additionally, there are resources from the internet to camps in the appendicies. No doubt, the book is at times depressing, but it is also enlightening. The undelying message is you need to be prepared for what you and your child are yet to experience and it is a map to guide you in this area

Great book. Residents should use this book, if not buy it. Not terribly expensive either. Excellent. Don't like the EKG book by the same author though.

In concise and clear language, Prof. Park explains how a
medical practitioner can diagnose alsmost any known
cardiac anomaly in a child.

Having a scientific but no medical background myself,
I found it very readable. Some knowledge of cardiac
anatomy and electrocardiography are a prerequisite.

What is especially good is Prof. Parks comprehensive
approach to the diagnosis: all posible pathologies are
listed and when a particular observation
is possible in normal patients, he doesn't forget to point
this out too.

I have only read the 2nd edition of the book (1988), so
I cannot vouch whether the latest (4th) is up to date
on recent advances in the field, be it in pacemaking
capabilities or teratogenic discoveries.

I bought this book on my 4th year medical student rotation for Pediatric Cardiology. It continues to serve me as a resident (just coming fresh off the Cardiology floor). The EKG section is invaluable. The description (and explanation of pathophysiology of) congenital heart defects is outstanding. I am told by fellows that this book has served them through the first year of fellowship then, before having to move onto more advanced texts. Only minus, no explanation of how EP studies work, which is not a huge minus because you won't be seeing much of that as a resident anyway. Bottom line: this is THE pediatric cardiology book that every pediatrician and every pediatric resident should have.

As a resident in pediatrics, you face the usual time constraints, yet you want to prepare yourselfs for electives by reading a comprehensible text. For Cardiology, I have found with Park's "Pediatric Cardiology for the Practioner" an outstanding text, which I actually prefer over more recent review articles for its easy to understand approach. The text is easy to read and is supported by the style of the figures and schemes. This book provides more than an introductory text for the pediatric resident with a general focus, it also provides a valuable and readily accessible resource for cardiology fellows.

This monograph is required reading for anyone who has an interest in cardiac development and in the care of fetuses and newborns. This book reviews the concepts of one of the pioneers in the study of fetal cardiovascular physiology, and summarizes more than 30 years of the personal research observations of this masterful scientist, physician and teacher. There is also significant imaginative speculation that is likely to stimulate the imaginations of trainees in this field. It is a classic in the field, and has been improved in the current edition.

Although it doesn't contain the latest developments in the field of pediatric cardiology, it isn't outdated. It doesn't try to propose the definitive treatment modality to the various heart abnormalities encountered in children, but explicitly explains various aspects of the disorder.

Dr. Rudolph begins by explaining the physiology of the fetus, the neonate and the child, to help the reader understand the importance of changes produced by cardiac anomalies. It then explains cardiac catheterization as a diagnostic tool. Once the basics are established, he explains various anomalies from an anatomic standpoint, a hemodynamic standpoint, clinical features, indications for catheterization, the differential diagnosis, and principles of management. While the management issues have changed dramatically since its publication, this is only a small portion of a book that provides a solid foundation to understanding the pediatric heart.

As one of the "fathers" of pediatric cardiology, Dr. Rudolph has given us an invaluable tool to understanding the fundamentals of pediatric cardiology.

This is definitely the best book I have read to learn about pediatric heart sounds. The combination of the text and the CD-ROM, which used "real" heart sounds, made the subject matter very understandable and practical for clinical use. I recommend this book for all medical students, pediatricians, nurses, physician's assistances, and anyone in the medical field performing a pediatric cardiac evaluation. The book details the various sounds heard during a cardiac exam and after completing, I believe you are better equipped for assessing pathologic and non-pathologic murmurs. Additionally, you will be more comfortable with the cardiac exam, which is a constant struggle for most practitioners who have not specialized in pediatric cardiology. I highly recommend this book because it is an AWESOME resource for anyone needing a straightforward, easy-read resource for learning about Pediatric Heart Sounds.

This book is an excellent resource for both medical students and residents on their cardiology rotations. The accompanying CD contains a recorded heart sounds tutorial, with respiration over the heart sounds, and is more realistic and lifelike than others of its kind. There is a quiz on the CD so that you can test your listening skills following the tutorial. The book and CD together teach you how to listen to the heart in a methodical way and to listen for each sound separately instead of immediately jumping to a conclusion about the diagnosis. You learn how to listen for S1 then S2, then extra heart sounds, then murmurs, etc. Then you put it all together and come up with a diagnosis. The book and CD do an excellent job teaching how to differentiate between normal innocent murmurs and pathologic murmurs. Overall I think students, residents, residency programs and medical schools should have this resource available and use it prior to and during the cardiology rotation for improved learning.

"The Rally Board" is a wonderful book of support for families of kids with heart problems, but also for anyone with a loved one who is suffering from any ailment. Mr. Sasena teaches us how important it is to focus on the positive. Clearly his daughter's life was hanging in the balance, but by focusing on the positive I believe he changed the focus of the health care providers who were caring for her- which definitely is a good thing.

The family tradegy of watching your child suffer through a physical ailment is nearly unparalleled. Mr. Sasena's foresight to engage the oftentimes business practice of monitoring and measuring a projects progress with his 'rally board' was brilliant. Not only did it bolster the family and staff by daily marking every iota of progress, but proved to be a testimony of the importance of keeping focused on the positive no matter how small, because it's those positive baby steps that bring you to the goal line -- in this instance, recovery and good health. This little story will be a bright spot to anyone being challenged with similar events.

I love this Atlas for congenital heart disease. It is clear cut with wonderful illustrations and photographs. It covers the basic heart lesions, doesn't go into extreme detail, but good overall atlas and reference.

This is the first in a series of study guides and they are all excellent. The books are written in such a way to be extremely clinically applicable. If you are studying for technology boards or the nuclear cardiology certification, this series is must have! I love the annotated references. At the end of each of the books there is a quiz, and the editor includes not only an answer key, but thorough explanations of each correct answer. I can't say enough about this series of books - I wish all textbooks were this clinically applicable and immediately accessible. Don't stop at this first one - there are six currently available, each as good as the first!

I had Hydrocephalus when I was younger. (17) I am now 40. Could you please tell me how I could obtain an updated Glasgow Scale. And have there been any changes in Ventricular Shunts?