Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Adult Congenital Heart Disease – is a term that encompasses a variety of disorders stemming from heart defects, that many people are either born with or develop early in life.

Top Ten Defects:

• Bicuspid Aortic Valve – an aortic valve with only two cusps instead of three, results in calcification and stiffness that causes aortic stenosis.
• Ventricular Septal Defect – a hole between the bottom two chambers of the heart
• Pulmonic Valve Stenosis – narrowing of the pulmonary valve
• Right Ventricular Hypertrophy - thickening of the outer wall of the right ventricle
• Overriding Aorta – aortic valve is unusually close to the right ventricle
• Tetralogy of Fallot - most common heart defect, comprised of the four previous defects
• Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) – a hole in the top of the heart between the top two chambers
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) – the arteries that cycle blood through the heart feed the wrong chambers, essentially reversing the bottom half of the heart
• Hypoplastic Left Heart (HLH) – parts of the left side of the heart do not develop
• Patient Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) - the ductus arteriosus blood vessel does not develop

Diagnosis

• Medical history
• Physical examination
• Electrocardiogram
• Echocardiogram

Treatment

• Defects need to be monitored with follow up care
• Medications may be helpful
• Catheter based surgery
• Open heart surgery
• Heart transplantation

Importance: continuous treatment and monitoring of adult congenital heart disease is necessary to live a healthy life