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Cardiovascular
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Heart failure is a potentially urgent health issue for young adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). Hospitalizations for the condition continue to rise, yet it is often overlooked and undertreated. Young adults in the United States with congenital heart disease are at higher risk of death or cardiovascular complications if hospitalized for heart failure, according to new research from Mayo Clinic. However, data from the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association also found that patients who had recently received cardiac care before being hospitalized for heart failure were less likely to die.
“More than 85 percent of children born with congenital heart disease will become adults. Despite being more likely to experience complications later in life, 61 percent of these patients don’t see a cardiologist after age 18,” said Luke Burchill, M.B.S., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. “These young adult patients are in dire need of personalized care pathways to improve their quality of life and monitor health issues, including heart failure.”
WATCH: Dr Luke Burchill talks about congenital heart disease
Note to journalists: Broadcast-quality audio of Dr. Burchill is available for download at the end of this post. Source: “Mayo Clinic News Network.” Name Super/CG: Luke Burchill, MD/Cardiology/Mayo Clinic.
Previous studies have shown that hospitalizations for heart failure among U.S. adults with congenital heart disease increased dramatically from 1998 to 2011. To further understand this trend and its impact on patients and hospital resources, Dr. Burchill and colleagues used national data to study a retrospective cohort of adults with congenital heart disease who were hospitalized over the past decade. The proportion of ACHD heart failure hospitalizations increased significantly, rising from 6.6% in 2010 to 14% in 2020.
Of more than 26,000 hospitalizations among ACHD patients, 22% were for heart failure and 78% were not. Patients hospitalized with heart failure were at higher risk of death and other major cardiac and cerebral complications and used more healthcare resources, such as readmissions and post-acute care services, than patients hospitalized without heart failure. However, those who visited a cardiac clinic within 30 days before hospitalization had a lower risk of all-cause mortality at 90 days and 1 year.
ACHD patients with heart failure, regardless of the type of congenital heart disease, were nearly twice as likely to be readmitted to hospital than those without heart failure, especially those under 45 years of age. Younger patients also required more medical and supportive care after being discharged from the hospital until they were able to return home and take care of themselves.
“Many of my ACHD and heart failure patients share a common experience: their heart-related symptoms were not taken seriously, and their heart failure was not recognized and treated until later. The good news is that most patients can get back on track,” says Dr. Burchill. “There are new medications to make the heart stronger again, new options to replace heart valves without cutting into the chest, and low-risk treatments to restore normal heart rhythm. Our goal is to shift the focus from heart failure to heart function and to helping patients feel better and live longer.”
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