Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
The number of adults with congenital heart disease is increasing due to the great achievements in the field of paediatric cardiology, congenital heart surgery and intensive care medicine over the last decades. Mortality has shifted away from the infant and childhood period towards adulthood. As congenital heart disease patients get older, a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is encountered similar to the general population. Consequently, the contribution of acquired morbidities, especially acquired heart conditions to patient outcome, is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, to continue the success story of the last decades in the treatment of congenital heart disease and to further improve the outcome of these patients, more attention has to be given to the prevention, detection and adequate therapy of acquired heart conditions. The aim of this review is to give an overview about acquired heart conditions that may be encountered in adults with congenital heart disease.
Introduction
The number of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) is increasing due to the great achievements in the treatment of congenital heart defects over the last decades. Mortality has shifted away from the infant and childhood period towards adulthood, with a steady increase of age at death. Even the population of ACHD patients above the age of 60 is increasing dramatically. As ACHD patients are getting older, acquired morbidities, for example, heart conditions like coronary artery disease (CAD) or non-cardiac conditions like chronic renal failure, are becoming more and more important for the outcome of this population in conjunction with the underlying congenital heart defect. Accordingly, the percentage of patients without any comorbidity is decreasing while the number of patients with multiple comorbidities is increasing. Especially, acquired heart diseases are frequently encountered. Therefore, early prevention, detection and therapy of acquired comorbidities are of utmost importance and should be in our focus as much as the treatment of the congenital heart defect and its sequelae itself. This review aims to give an overview about acquired heart conditions that may be encountered in ACHD patients.