Congenital Heart Disease in Adults

Abstract

With advances in medical and surgical care, an increasing number of children with congenital diseases of the heart and vasculature now survive to adulthood. The proportion of adults who are affected by congenital heart disease is expected to continue to increase. Thus, it is important for clinicians to be knowledgeable about the care of these patients. This review examines acyanotic disorders (shunts and valvular lesions), vascular anomalies, cyanotic disorders, and women’s health issues. Figures show the anatomy of atrial septal defects, transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects, an anatomic cross section showing the atrioventricular septum, the anatomic positions of ventricular septal defects, a computed tomography scan of aortic coarctation, angiogram of a persistent left superior vena cava draining into the right atrium, systemic artery-to-pulmonary artery shunts, magnetic resonance image of a patient with repaired tetralogy of Fallot and long-standing pulmonary valve insufficiency, treatment of pulmonary valve regurgitation with a transcatheter pulmonary valve, computed tomographic images of a patient with atrial switch palliation of transposition of the great arteries and multiple baffle obstructions, stages in the repair of functional single ventricles, and echocardiograms of a patient with Ebstein anomaly. Tables list recommendations for pulmonary valve replacement in repaired tetralogy of Fallot, conditions in which pregnancy is high risk, and cardiac indications for fetal echocardiography. This review contains 12 highly rendered figures, 4 tables, and 62 references.