Adult congenital heart disease

Abstract

The increasing number of patients with either uncorrected or repaired congenital cardiac lesions is on the rise, likely reflective of improvements in care and detection. With more patients surviving well into adulthood, they often present for non-cardiac surgery. Echocardiography remains central to the detection, and aids in both surgical and device-based correction. It can also provide important prognostic information and quantify the effects (from the lesion) on ventricular function, pulmonary and systemic flow, etc. It is important for the beginner and intermediate practitioner to familiarize himself/herself with basic lesions encountered in adulthood, the echocardiographic techniques used to further identify and evaluate each condition, and the associated conditions that need to be sought and ruled out.