The child at risk for developing heart disease. 3.

We discuss how to identify the child at risk for developing or having heart disease. We describe both the child at risk for developing adult-onset heart disease and the child or fetus at risk for having congenital heart disease. With respect to the child at risk for developing adult-onset heart disease, we concentrate on how four risk factors (cigarette smoking, hyperlipidemia, reduced physical activity, and obesity) affect the development of cardiovascular disease, and we review the types of therapy currently being used to modify them. We also discuss the etiological factors related to the risk of developing congenital heart disease, such as single-gene conditions, known cardiac teratogens, chromosomal anomalies, and multifactorial inheritance.