Heart failure is a potentially urgent health concern for young adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) that is often overlooked and undertreated, even as hospitalizations for this condition continue to rise. New research from Mayo Clinic shows that young adults in the U.S. living with congenital heart disease are at an increased risk of death or cardiovascular complications after being hospitalized for heart failure. However, study data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association also found that patients who had been receiving recent cardiology care before a heart failure hospitalization were less likely to die.
"More than 85% of children born with congenital heart disease reach adulthood. They are likely to experience complications later, yet 61% of these patients beyond the age of 18 do not see a cardiology specialist," says Luke Burchill, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and first author of the study. "These young adult patients have a strong need for individualized care pathways to improve their quality of life and monitor health issues like heart failure."
Watch: Dr. Luke Burchill talks about congenital heart disease
