Congenital Heart Diseases in Adults
Congenital heart disease (congenital heart defect) is an abnormality in your heart's structure that you're born with. Although congenital heart disease is often considered a childhood condition, advances in surgical treatment mean most babies who once died of congenital heart disease survive well into adulthood.
While medical advances have improved, many adults with congenital heart disease may not be getting proper follow-up care. If you had a congenital heart defect repaired as an infant, you likely still need care as an adult.
Find out if and when you should check with your doctor, if you're likely to have complications, or if you're at greater risk of other heart problems as an adult.
Symptoms
Symptoms or signs of congenital heart disease may not show up until later in life. They may recur years after you've had treatment for a heart defect. Some common congenital heart disease symptoms you may have as an adult include:
- Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
- A bluish tint to the skin (cyanosis)
- Shortness of breath
- Tiring quickly upon exertion
- Dizziness or fainting
- Swelling of body tissue or organs (edema)
Causes
How the heart works
The heart is divided into four hollow chambers, two on the right and two on the left. In performing its basic job — pumping blood throughout the body — the heart uses its left and right sides for different tasks.
The right side of the heart moves blood to the lungs through vessels called pulmonary arteries. In the lungs, blood picks up oxygen and then returns to the heart's left side through the pulmonary veins. The left side of the heart then pumps the blood through the aorta and out to the rest of the body.
How heart defects develop
Most heart defects develop when a baby is still in the womb. During the first month of gestation, the fetal heart begins beating. At this point, the heart is just a vaguely heart-shaped tube. Soon the structures that will form into the heart's two sides and the large blood vessels that carry blood in and out of them develop.
It's usually at this point in a baby's development that heart defects may begin to develop. Researchers aren't sure exactly what causes defects to begin, but they think some medical conditions, medications and genetics may play a role.
Why congenital heart disease resurfaces in adulthood
Some adults may find that problems with their heart defects arise later in life, even if their defects were treated in childhood. This is because heart defects are seldom cured — they are often repaired, so your heart function is improved, but it's often not completely normal.
There are many reasons why heart defects re-emerge in adults. In some cases, the treatment you received in childhood may have been successful then, but the problem worsens later in life. It's also possible that problems in your heart, which weren't serious enough to repair when you were a child, have worsened and now require treatment.
There are other complications of childhood surgeries to correct congenital heart disease that can occur later in life. Many treatments to repair heart defects may leave scar tissue behind in your heart that causes an increased chance of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia).
Congenital heart disease and pregnancy
Women with congenital heart disease who wish to become pregnant should talk with their doctors before becoming pregnant. They should discuss possible risks, as well as any special care they might need during pregnancy.
A successful pregnancy is possible if you had a congenital heart disease, especially if your defect was mild. However, some women with complex congenital heart defects may be advised against pregnancy.
It's important for both men and women to know that if they have congenital heart disease, there may be an increased risk of passing on some form of congenital heart disease to their children. Your doctor may suggest genetic counseling to help you predict the risk of passing on inherited forms of congenital heart disease.
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