Congenital Heart Disease in Adults

Over the past 20 to 30 years, major advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease in children. As a result, many children with such disease now survive to adulthood. In the United States alone, the population of adults with congenital heart disease, either surgically corrected or uncorrected, is estimated to be increasing at a rate of about 5 percent per year; this year there will be almost 1 million such patients.1 This two-part review discusses the more common acyanotic and cyanotic congenital heart conditions that physicians who care for adults are likely to encounter. . . .