Comprehensive Approach to Adult Congenital Heart Disease

In the United States, there are approximately 1 million adults with congenital heart disease, with 20,000 new patients reaching adolescence each year. With early pediatric diagnosis, improved medical, surgical and post operative care, it is now expected that 90% of patients born with congenital heart disease (CHD) will survive to adulthood. Therefore, the number of adult CHD (ACHD) patients will continue to rise. In fact, it is now estimated that for the first time in history, there are more adu