Heart disease in infants and children can impact their growth and development and significantly increase the challenges of raising them. My interest in this topic grew out of personal experience with a congenital heart defect in a family member. We are grateful for the health care team that made a prompt diagnosis, a successful surgical repair, and a good outcome possible.

This edition of FP Essentials provides updates on several key aspects of pediatric heart disease. Section One addresses the evaluation of murmurs, which can be present in up to 5% of newborns. Section Two covers the cardiac preparticipation examination, where we strive to identify young athletes who are at risk for sudden cardiac death and help to reduce that risk. Section Three addresses important dysrhythmias in children, including supraventricular tachycardias, long QT syndrome, and others. Section Four focuses on two inflammatory syndromes that can affect the heart: Kawasaki disease and the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children that is associated with COVID-19 disease.

I hope you find this edition of FP Essentials helpful for your practice. When you have finished studying it and are ready to submit your posttest answers, please tell us what was most useful and what we can do to improve. We look forward to hearing your ideas for topics you would like covered in future editions.

Karl T. Rew, MD, Associate Medical Editor
Clinical Associate Professor, Departments of Family Medicine and Urology
University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor