Key issues of daily life in adults with congenital heart disease

Abstract

Increasing survival rates of patients with congenital heart disease have resulted in a new and growing patient population of adults with operated congenital heart disease. Medical professionals face the specific medical needs of these patients but must also deal with their daily life issues. Adult patients with congenital heart disease report difficulties in several areas of daily life, such as sport, employment, insurability and travel or driving. Moreover, they must have a healthy lifestyle to prevent cardiovascular complications. All these issues can be addressed in a specific educational program. In this review, we discuss the different daily life issues of adults with congenital heart disease and the preventive measures that can be proposed to improve their quality of life.

Keywords: ACHD; Adult congenital heart disease; CAD; CHD; Cardiopathie congénitale de l’adulte; Education; Lifestyle; Quality of life; Qualité de vie; Reconnaissance Qualité Travailleur Handicapé; Style de vie; TQTH; VO(2); adult congenital heart disease; congenital heart disease; coronary artery disease; oxygen uptake.; Éducation.