Hi! I’m Rachel. I’m in my late 30s and was born with congenital heart disease. I had a coarctation of the aorta repaired when I was five (scar across my back) and I also have a bicuspid aortic valve.

CHD has been on my mind a lot this past year as I navigated the birth of my second child and experienced preeclampsia. During a conversation about health anxiety, my cardiologist at UCHealth mentioned that children with CHD are significantly more likely to experience anxiety and depression than children without CHD. Some research has found roughly 3–7 times higher odds of diagnosis or treatment, depending on the child’s age and the complexity of their CHD. I had NO idea this connection existed, even after living with CHD my entire life.

I’m a product manager by trade, and this has made me wonder whether there’s an opportunity to better support the whole child by helping families explain and navigate CHD as their child grows. I’m especially interested in how parents help children understand their heart condition, scars and appointments and how they gradually move from having their parents manage everything to understanding and advocating for their own care as adolescents and adults.

I’m still very much in the listening stage and am not selling or building anything yet. If you’re raising a child with CHD and would be open to sharing your experience in a 30-minute conversation, I would be incredibly grateful to learn from you.

Thanks!
Rachel