Genetic counseling for congenital heart disease

The genetic knowledge of parents of children with congenital heart disease, who had received genetic counseling, was compared with that of a control noncounseled group attending the same cardiac clinic. A follow-up questionnaire showed that both groups had excellent knowledge of the nature of their children's heart lesions. The counseled group had significantly more accurate knowledge of their recurrence risks. Inasmuch as the reproductive attitudes of some of these parents were found to be influenced by genetic information, parents of children with CHD should be given a better understanding of recurrence risks for CHD than many of them possess.