Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects affecting approximately 1% of newborns. Although it is clear that in many cases there is a genetic component involved, the inheritance is complex. Finding genetic variants causing these defects has been difficult, even in families with multiple affected members. In addition to genetics, environmental factors such as maternal metabolic disease and maternal infections during early pregnancy are a risk for congenital heart defects in the offspring.
Our aim is to identify novel genetic and environmental determinants of CHD using genetics, patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells and Finnish registers.