Adult congenital heart disease: magnitude of the problem

Purpose of review: To define the magnitude of problems faced by patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) and to identify unmet needs for this population. Recent findings: The ACHD population is estimated to include more than 1 million people in the United States and continues to grow at a steady rate. Owing to the decline in early mortality in this group, modern medicine is now faced by the long-term complications associated with congenital heart disease such as chronic heart failure, increased endocarditis risk, elevated burden of arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, valvular dysfunction, and pregnancy. Summary: Increasing access to ACHD care, evolution of imaging techniques and transcatheter technology and continued efforts at quality improvement will be key to successfully facing the challenges that are a product of the astounding success of pediatric cardiac surgery.
Source: Current Opinion in Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Tags: IMAGING ADULTS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE: Edited by Sherif Nagueh Source Type: research