Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the commonest congenital malformation with an incidence of approximately 8 per 1000 live births. Half of the defects are severe. Cardiac anomalies at birth are 4 times more common than neural tube defects and 6.5 times more common than chromosomal abnormalities. Within a stillborn population the incidence is approximately 10 times that of live births. Congenital heart disease is responsible for approximately 40% of the perinatal and 60% of post neonatal deaths due to congenital anomalies. Despite screening of the infant population, 30% of cases of CHD are unsuspected or unconfirmed prior to death. Sadly, many of these missed lesions are correctable. However, the overall outlook for CHD is excellent since 85% of infants born with heart malformations will survive into adult life.