Adult Congenital Heart Disease

The prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) is known to be increasing as a result of increased of survival, and recent studies have shown that adults have become the majority among CHD patients. This represents a significant burden to the health care system. Health care providers will need to master knowledge about pathology and physiology once confined exclusively to the pediatric realm. For practitioners in an increasing number of fields, concepts regarding direction of shunting, valvular disease, basic palliations, and more will increasingly affect clinical practices whether in the clinic, imaging suite, or operating room. Seeking out care for cardiac and noncardiac issues alike, these patients are relatively high health care consumers and are not easily or adequately defined by simple descriptions. With time the relative burden will increase further as CHD itself becomes a field defined by aging rather than palliation.