News Archive
ECHDO announces new President for 2026
The European Congenital Heart Disease Organisation announces a leadership transition and welcomes Katarina Stano as its new President. She is stepping into this role following Karen Tomlin, with the full trust of the Board and a commitment to continue building on the work and momentum ECHDO has gained over the past year.
Madga's Story
Mental and physical health have never been separate for me.
I was born in 1960 with a congenital heart condition - Ebstein anomaly. But I didn’t know I was ill. And neither did most people around me.
As a child, I had pain I couldn’t explain. On the swing, for example, I'd feel something “funny.” People would call me a sissy. So I learned to sing instead of scream. That became my way of coping.
My mother taught me two things that shaped my mental health for life:
step by step — and where there is a will, there is a way.
No pity. Just encouragement.
Matylda's CHD Story
We reside in Iceland. At 30 weeks into my pregnancy, I learned that my unborn daughter had pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS). I consider myself fortunate that this condition was detected while I was still pregnant. However, this revelation came shortly after we had to evacuate our town because of possible volcanic activity, and just days later, my partner’s mother passed away. We were still grappling with our loss when we received this news, leaving us in a state of complete shock.