Congenital heart disease (CHD) is more common than most people realize. Nearly 1 percent of babies born in the United States each year have CHD, making it one of the most frequently diagnosed birth defects. As advances in surgery and medical management have greatly improved, those born with cardiac anomalies are now living far into adulthood. Currently, adults make up the largest population of people living with CHD.

Adults with CHD present a unique challenge as they age. As those born with CHD grow into adulthood and develop other health problems, they become difficult for pediatric cardiologists to manage. At the same time, the complexity of the congenital heart disease poses dilemmas for an adult cardiologist.

Medical Director

The Arkansas ACHD Program cares for patients with all types of Congenital Heart Disease. Currently, more than 1,100 patients are followed, many of whom have been treated at Arkansas Children's since childhood. New patients are often seen as the result of second opinion requests. Our program can also work closely with local adult cardiologists to offer co-management in some cases. 

Possible Conditions

• Aortic valve anomalies
• Aortopathies and aneurysms
• Atrial septal defect
• Coarctation of the aorta
• Congenital aortic stenosis
• Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries
• Dextrocardia
• D-transposition of the great arteries
• Double inlet left ventricle
• Double outlet right ventricle
• Ebstein's anomaly
• Fontan Operation
• Genetic syndromes with congenital heart disease
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Hypoplastic right heart syndrome
• Pregnancy in patients with congenital heart disease
• Pulmonary atresia
• Pulmonary stenosis
• Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Tricuspid atresia
• Truncus arteriosus
• Ventricular septal defect

As a part of the Arkansas Children's Heart Center, the ACHD Program offers complete clinical services, including inpatient and outpatient care. This comprehensive treatment program provides experts who are specially trained in the unique healthcare needs of adults with CHD. 

Possible Treatments

• Cardiac catheterization (hemodynamic & interventional)
• Cardiac transplantation
• Chest X-ray
• Computed tomography scan (CT Scan)
• Echocardiography (transthoracic, transesophageal, & fetal)
• Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
• Electrophysiology studies
• Genetic testing & follow-up
• Ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring
• Laboratory testing
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Pacemaker & defibrillator interrogation
• Pregnancy follow-up
• Stress testing (cardiac & cardio-pulmonary)

Research

Ongoing research endeavors include:

• Outcomes of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease
• Hospital resource utilization in adults with single ventricle congenital heart disease— pediatric versus adult hospitals
• Impact of obesity on the interpretation of right ventricular volume in adults with tetralogy of Fallot
• Long-term outcomes of congenital heart surgery in patients with Down syndrome

To learn more about congenital heart disease, visit the following links.

• American Heart Association
• Adult Congenital Heart Association
• The Canadian Adult Congenital Network
• The International Society for Adult Congenital Heart Disease