Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease is a heart defect — a problem with the heart’s structure or function — that is present at birth. Defects can affect the heart valves or walls, or the blood vessels close to the heart, and they can hamper blood flow through the muscle. Categorized as cyanotic congenital heart disease, which are defects that restrict the amount of oxygen in the blood, and non-cyanotic congenital heart disease, congenital heart defects may be diagnosed during pregnancy, soon after birth or later in life.

If you’ve received a congenital heart disease diagnosis, whether you experienced symptoms or received treatment as a child, teenager or adult, it’s important to follow up throughout your life with a cardiologist who specializes in adult congenital heart disease care. Congenital heart disease life expectancy has improved, and ongoing care is key to living longer. A cardiologist can determine whether you need additional congenital heart disease treatment, such as surgery or medication. He or she can also help you optimize your health with diet and exercise, and monitor you for infective endocarditis, arrhythmia and other health problems that can affect people with congenital heart defects.

The Kentucky Adult Congenital Heart (KACH) Program at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute features a multidisciplinary team that includes a board-certified congenital heart disease specialist, specially trained cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, imagers, echocardiographers and electrophysiologists. Our cardiologists and other specialists collaborate with pediatric cardiologists to ensure seamless transitions to adult congenital heart disease care. That’s important, because your cardiologist will need a complete understanding of your condition and the treatments you’ve received to provide the most effective care moving forward.

The KACH Program team offers advanced procedures in heart valve repair, structural heart conditions and interventional cardiology. Many of these procedures are minimally invasive, so patients experience less postoperative pain and recover faster compared with open-heart surgery. We stay on the leading edge of adult congenital heart disease treatment by providing access to innovative therapies through clinical trials. We also make care convenient by partnering with facilities throughout Kentucky and in neighboring states to offer clinics and telemedicine consultations.