Key result
Managing ACHD in the emergency department requires specialized care for unique anatomical variants and arrhythmias.
Why the study?
More patients with congenital heart disease are surviving into adulthood and presenting to non-specialized emergency departments, requiring clinicians to understand their specific defects, typical cardiac presentations, and management differences to avoid harm.
This review highlights the anatomical variants, common complications, and specific emergency management strategies for the growing population of adults with congenital heart disease.
While congenital heart disease historically was a pathology primarily restricted to specialized pediatric centers, advances in technology have dramatically increased the number of people living into adulthood, the number of complications faced by these patients, and the number of patients visiting non-specialized emergency departments for these concerns. Clinicians need to be aware of the issues specific to patients' individual congenital defects but also have an understanding of how typical cardiac pathology may manifest in this special group of patients. This manuscript attempts to provide an overview of this diverse but increasingly common group of adult patients with congenital heart diseases, including a review of their anatomical variants, the complications they face at the highest rates, and ways that emergency physicians may need to manage these patients differently to avoid causing harm.
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Lindor et al. (2024) conducted a review in Adult Congenital Heart Disease. Adult congenital heart disease patients presenting to the emergency department require specialized care and recognition of specific anatomical variants, complications like arrhythmias, and tailored management.
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