Patterns of congenital heart disease in unoperated adults: A 20‐year experience in a developing country

Abstract

Atrial septal defect is the most common defect reported in our experience; however, it occurs more frequently than that reported in the literature. Although most patients were symptomatic on presentation, their functional status was stable. Accordingly, their hospital course, whether managed medically or surgically, held a relatively low complication rate. This could be attributed to the uncomplicated nature of pathologies in our series. The surgical mortality and in-hospital complications were slighter higher than those reported for similar lesions if repaired during childhood. This study reflects the relative frequency of various cardiac malformations in selected patients with "grown up" congenital heart disease (GUCH) and their natural survival pattern.