Cordelia - a face of hope

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

Cordelia is now a healthy toddler

Little Cordelia Griffin is the picture of health - a happy bouncy toddler.

Yet two years ago her life hung in the balance as doctors spent over seven hours operating on her tiny heart after she was born with two main arteries the wrong way round.

Today she is a face of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) - showing the world that contrary to many misconceptions heart disease is not just for old people and that in many cases it is treatable.

Every day around 12 babies are born in the UK with congenital heart disease and many will need specialist care to survive.

Saving lives

The BHF has been trying to raise £1.5 million to fund research and ensure that more people like Cordelia, of Slough, Berkshire, thrive.

And it is not just congenital heart disease that the BHF needs to fund research into, but all forms of heart and circulatory disease.

You don't really think of heart problems with children - until you come across it. You think it is something to worry about when you retire Maddie Griffin

Nearly 600 people a day die from heart and circulatory disease. It is the main cause of death in the UK and in 2005 it accounted for more than one in three deaths.

Since the 1970s death rates from heart disease have halved in the UK.

Worrying few days

Cordelia's mother Maddie said that throughout her pregnancy everything appeared fine and her routine pregnancy scans showed no problems.

But within hours of Cordelia's birth it became clear that her heart was struggling.

"They found her oxygen levels were very low and transferred her to the Royal Brompton about seven hours after she was born," said Maddie.

Heart work this year About 20,000 people have had a heart bypass op Around 25,000 people have had a pacemaker fitted More than 220 million prescriptions have been made to help people prevent and manage heart and circulatory disease

"When we were told that our new born daughter would have to have major surgery we were devastated - it was the worst thing in the world that could have happened to us.

"Her two main arteries were the wrong way round and she was not getting oxygen in her blood stream so she needed an operation.

"They cut the arteries off and turn them around, which sounds quite simple until you remember that a newborn baby's heart is the size of a walnut - so it is quite a daunting task."

Cordelia was in hospital for 19 days and is now thriving, but her mum says that before Cordelia's illness she had been completely unaware of congenital heart problems.

Twelve babies a day are born with congenital heart disease

"In your ante-natal classes you do not hear any mention of problems that there could be because they do not wish to worry you unnecessarily.

"We were not aware that their could be a myriad of different congenital heart defects that could affect her until she had one.

"You don't really think of heart problems with children - until you come across it. You think it is something to worry about when you retire."

In the 1950s around eight out of 10 babies born with a complex congenital heart condition would die before their first birthday. Today more than eight out of 10 grow up to be adults.

Raising awareness

Julia O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse with BHF, said they are hoping using case studies like Cordelia's will encourage people to dig deep and raise cash and awareness to help all heart problems.

"We want to raise awareness that there is not just one type of heart disease, but that there are several.

"The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease, heart attack and angina and this is the one that probably the most people know about.

"But there are also disease of the heart valves, abnormalities of the heart rhythm and also congenital heart disease and diseases of the heart muscle."

Jackie Skeel, head of fundraising campaigns at the BHF said: 'Our research has helped save so many lives.

"Heart disease can affect everyone and it's only with the public's support that we can beat heart disease."