Guidelines for adult congenital heart disease

"These days most children born with congenital heart disease live well into adulthood, thanks to innovative surgical, interventional and medical treatments. That means that not only are cardiologists caring for a growing number of adults with repaired heart defects, but the resulting cardiac anatomy and physiology are often much more complex than in the past. To assist cardiologists in making everyday clinical decisions for this challenging group of patients - and in knowing when to refer patients to specialists with expertise in congenital heart disease - the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have jointly released a comprehensive set of practice guidelines on the management of adults with congenital heart disease. The guidelines - the first of their kind in the United States - appear in the December 2, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the December 2, 2008, issue of Circulation"