Psychology lecturer writes two blogs to mark International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

Glasgow Caledonian University lecturer Dr Liza Morton, who was one of the world's youngest pacemaker babies, is marking mark International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day today (February 14) with two blogs about her own journey and battle to improve the lives of others living with congenital heart disease.

Dr Morton has written a piece for the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (THE ALLIANCE) entitled ‘A win for patient involvement: Congenital heart disease standards in Scotland’ on how she played a huge part in new standards of care.

The campaigning Lecturer in Applied Psychology and Counselling Psychologist, in the School of Health and Life Sciences Department of Psychology, has been sharing her story and fighting to improve the lives of hundreds of people with the condition for many years. She even co-wrote a book about her journey entitled ‘Healing Hearts and Minds’.

Dr Morton’s second blog has appeared on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) website entitled ‘Congenital Heart Disease Standards – Bridging the gap between physical and mental health’.

CHD is a general term for a range of conditions that affect the way the heart works. The term 'congenital' means the condition is present from birth. CHD affects up to eight in every 1,000 babies born in the UK.