{"id":179852,"date":"2026-02-10T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=179852"},"modified":"2026-02-04T19:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:01:39","slug":"heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week"},"content":{"rendered":"

EIGHT babies are born every day in Australia with childhood-onset heart disease, a confronting statistic being highlighted as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week begins on Friday.<\/p>\n

The national awareness week, which runs from February 7 to February 14 and leads into Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day on February 14, is shining a light on one of the country’s most common congenital conditions and the impact it can have on families.<\/p>\n

Childhood-onset heart disease (CoHD) is an umbrella term for lifelong heart conditions that begin at birth or during childhood and often require ongoing medical care.<\/p>\n

To mark the week, HeartKids \u2013 Australia’s only charity dedicated to providing support, resources and advocacy for the 250,000 people living with CoHD \u2013 has launched its annual fundraising campaign.<\/p>\n

The Sweethearts for HeartKids campaign encourages people to donate $8 in recognition of the eight babies diagnosed each day and to help provide essential services for the children, teenagers and adults living with heart conditions across Australia.<\/p>\n

The money will be used to expand access to practical and emotional support in hospitals, communities and regional areas.<\/p>\n

This includes family support programs, camps, education days and the HeartKids Helpline, which offers guidance and connection to families navigating a heart disease diagnosis.<\/p>\n

“As a mother of three, with two children living with heart conditions, I know how overwhelming a diagnosis can feel,” chief executive Sami Glastonbury said.<\/p>\n

“HeartKids helps families feel seen and supported at a time when everything feels uncertain.<\/p>\n

“Families often spend long periods in hospital or travelling for care. The practical and emotional support HeartKids provides is something you cannot put a price on.”<\/p>\n

HeartKids was established nearly 50 years ago by parents searching for information and connection during what is often a time of grief and upheaval.<\/p>\n

“Giving $8 may seem like a small gesture, but when our generous community give together, the collective impact helps ensure families facing childhood-onset heart disease have support when it matters most,” Glastonbury said.<\/p>\n

For more information, to donate or to host a Sweethearts fundraiser, such as a Galentine’s or Valentine’s event, breakfast, movie night or dinner, head to heartkids.org.au\/sweethearts-for-heartkids<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EIGHT babies are born every day in Australia with childhood-onset heart disease, a confronting statistic being highlighted as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week begins on Friday. The national awareness week, which runs from February 7 to February 14 and leads into Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day on February 14, is shining a light on one […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":179858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-179852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHeart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellie Claringbold\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ellie Claringbold\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ellie Claringbold\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32abddd83bad3e2425166905b3e3aaff\"},\"headline\":\"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-82.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/\",\"name\":\"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-82.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-82.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-82.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Childhood-onset heart disease (CoHD) is an umbrella term for lifelong heart conditions that begin at birth or during childhood and often require ongoing medical care. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32abddd83bad3e2425166905b3e3aaff\",\"name\":\"Ellie Claringbold\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/ellie\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times","description":"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ellie Claringbold","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ellie Claringbold","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/"},"author":{"name":"Ellie Claringbold","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/32abddd83bad3e2425166905b3e3aaff"},"headline":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week","datePublished":"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/"},"wordCount":360,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg","articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/","name":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-09T17:00:00+00:00","description":"National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week highlights childhood heart disease and supports families via HeartKids charity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-82.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Childhood-onset heart disease (CoHD) is an umbrella term for lifelong heart conditions that begin at birth or during childhood and often require ongoing medical care. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/heart-disease-affecting-babies-highlighted-during-national-awareness-week\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heart disease affecting babies highlighted during national awareness week"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/32abddd83bad3e2425166905b3e3aaff","name":"Ellie Claringbold","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/ellie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179852"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=179852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}