ROCHESTER, Minn. — Heart failure is a potentially urgent health concern for young adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) that is often overlooked even as hospitalizations for the disease continue to rise. and are not adequately treated. A new Mayo Clinic study shows that young Americans living with congenital heart defects are at increased risk of death or cardiovascular complications after being hospitalized for heart failure. However, the research data published in the paper American Heart Association Journal They also found that patients who had recently received cardiac treatment before being hospitalized for heart failure were less likely to die.

“More than 85% of children born with congenital heart disease will reach adulthood. Although they are more likely to experience complications later on, 61% of these patients will see a cardiologist over the age of 18. ,” says Dr. Luke Burchill, MBBS. D. is a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s lead author. “These young adult patients are in great need of individualized care pathways to improve their quality of life and monitor health issues such as heart failure.”

Previous studies have shown that heart failure hospitalizations among U.S. adults with congenital heart disease increased dramatically from 1998 to 2011. To further understand this trend and its impact on patient and hospital resources, Dr. Burchill and colleagues studied a retrospective cohort of adults using national data. Hospitalized for congenital heart disease in the past 10 years. The proportion of hospitalizations due to ACHD heart failure has increased significantly, rising from 6.6% in 2010 to 14% in 2020.

Of more than 26,000 separate hospitalizations of ACHD patients, 22% had heart failure and 78% did not have heart failure. Patients hospitalized with heart failure had a higher risk of death and other serious heart and brain complications and used more health care resources, including readmissions and post-acute care services, than patients hospitalized with heart failure. . However, those who visited a cardiologist within 30 days before hospitalization had lower mortality rates 90 days and 1 year later for any reason.

ACHD patients with heart failure were almost twice as likely to be readmitted to the hospital as patients without heart failure, especially those younger than 45 years, regardless of the type of congenital heart disease. Younger patients also required more medical or supportive care after discharge from the hospital before returning home to care for themselves.

“Many of the ACHD and heart failure patients I meet share similar stories of their heart-related symptoms not being taken seriously, resulting in delays in heart failure recognition and treatment. The good news is that “We can reset the course of treatment for most patients,” says Dr. Burchill. “We have new drugs to strengthen the heart, new options to replace heart valves without opening the chest, and low-risk treatments to get the heart’s rhythm back to normal. Our Goal is about shifting the focus from heart failure to heart function and patient success. You’ll feel better and live longer.”

###

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization dedicated to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, providing compassion, expertise and answers to all who need healing. For more Mayo Clinic news, visit Mayo Clinic News Network.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! We are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted on EurekAlert! Use of Information by Contributing Institutions or via the EurekAlert System.