The heart is the engine of life and has a prodigious capacity but inevitably for such a crucial organ there are many ways in which it can malfunction. Fortunately, only a quarter of them will require treatment but for those that do there are now appropriate interventions for many of these conditions. I am a senior paediatric cardiologist in London, UK with a large experience in the diagnosis and management of a wide range ofcongenital heart defects in babies, children and adolescents. Cardiac defects are the most common form of defects present at birth. 8 out of 1000 newborns are born with acongenital heart defect (CHD). Cardiac defects range from very mild ones which can resolve on their own during childhood to severe ones which if undetected or untreated can be very serious.