Clinical Experience of Chest Pain in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease in a Single Tertiary Center

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate clinical manifestation and causes of chest pain in adults with congenital heart disease. Of 966 patients in our Adult Congenital Heart Clinic, 50 patients had cyanosis (cyanosis [+]), and 916 patients did not have cyanosis (cyanosis [-]). Fifty-four patients (16 male and 38 female) with a history of chest pain requiring medical care were selected: 33 were in the cyanosis (+) group, and 21 were in the cyanosis (-) group. Medical records were reviewed. The causes of chest pain were (no. cyanosis [+], no. cyanosis [-], respectively) as follows: idiopathic (n = 19, n = 10), pulmonary hemorrhage (n = 6, n = 0), pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 2, n = 0), pulmonary thromboembolism (n = 4, n = 0), localized musculoskeletal (n = 1, n = 1), myocardial ischemia (n = 1, n = 1), and arrhythmia (n = 2, n = 9). Patients with cyanosis had much higher frequency of chest pain compared with patients without cyanosis (33 of 50 vs. 21 of 916, p < 0.0001). Chest pain in adults with congenital heart disease has diverse causes. Meticulous evaluation of chest pain in adults with congenital heart disease is required to differentiate correctable causes from idiopathic or incurable ones.