How does a congenital heart defect affect school careers? A study by the Competence Network has revealed encouraging results. They speak in favor of targeted support for the next generation.

At just over 83 percent, the majority of children with congenital heart defects attend a normal elementary school. Most of them (more than 73 percent) start their first school year at the age of six or younger. And the children with congenital heart defects manage their school careers well. Regardless of the severity of their underlying disease, around 46 percent achieve the university entrance qualification required to study at a university. The national average is only 32 percent of all students.

Of the children with congenital heart defects, 35 percent of patients with severe heart defects still successfully pass their university entrance examinations, 47 percent manage to do so with a moderate congenital heart defect and a proud 57 percent with a mild variant. This is the result of a recent, broad-based study in which scientists from the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects evaluated the responses of 2,900 registry participants and their parents in a comprehensive online survey, each designed to be age-appropriate.

Developmental Impairments are Less of an Obstacle

"For those affected, and their parents, these results are a great encouragement," says first author and physician Constanze Pfitzer. The scientists believe that this confirms the results of previous studies on the educational situation of patients with congenital heart defects. The current survey results also indicate that even developmental impairments that have been demonstrated in association with congenital heart defects and required corrective surgeries in recent studies do not necessarily stand in the way of a school career, according to Constanze Pfitzer.

It is true that patients, especially those with severe congenital heart defects, repeated a school year more often than their healthy peers. They also tended to complete a high school career less often than children with milder heart malformations. In many cases, however, this is due to school absences caused by the disease, for example as a result of hospitalization, and is not necessarily a sign of excessive academic demands.

Conscious Handling of the Disease Has a Positive Effect

On the contrary: "The above-average number of successful high school graduates among the patients suggests that dealing with the serious congenital disease in early childhood leads to a more conscious approach to one's own body and abilities, which has a positive effect on the patient's academic development and performance. Those who are physically limited are more likely to focus their interests on intellectual activities and therefore become more involved in this area," explains Constanze Pfitzer.

The contribution made by the more intensive form of care provided by parents, siblings and the social environment as a result of the disease should also not be underestimated. In addition, a significant proportion of the study participants received remedial education during their school careers. The scholarship holder in the Clinician Scientist Program of the Berlin Institute for Health (BIH) at Charité believes that there is an urgent need for more detailed research into these correlations as well as into impairments in neuro-cognitive development caused by heart defects, in order to be able to compensate for the latter through targeted advice and support.

Clear Acadamic Success

In addition, it is still necessary to pour some water into the wine, explains co-author and graduate psychologist Paul Helm: "A comparison with the national average can only provide rough indications due to the completely different approaches to statistical recording and our study." In addition, far more women and girls than men and boys participated in the online survey, with 59 percent among patients and more than 80 percent among parents. "That in itself is nothing new. The classic distribution of roles plays into this, according to which women still predominantly take care of raising children and health issues."

At the same time, however, the higher number of female patients participating reflects what the statistics from the Federal Statistical Office also show, he said. "Girls achieve better school results than boys of the same age. The willingness to participate in such a study is likely to be more pronounced in principle among patients with higher school-leaving qualifications. The greater participation of female study participants points to this factor, which also has a slightly distorting effect," says the scientist at the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects. However, the authors of the study emphasize that there is no reason to doubt the educational success of children with congenital heart diseases.

This is good news for patients, their parents, the doctors treating them, and also for their social environment. Impairments caused by a congenital heart defect obviously have less impact on a child's school career than the positive effects of targeted support in dealing with their own underlying disease.