Hospitals Are Seeing Rapidly Growing Numbers of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease

March 7th, 2013

Hospitals Are Seeing Rapidly Growing Numbers of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

Hospitals are treating increasing numbers of adults with congenital heart disease, thanks to tremendous progress in treatment for this condition in recent decades. A clear picture of this dramatic change emerges in a new study, presented at the ACC in San Francisco and published simultaneously in JAMA.

Jared O’Leary and colleagues analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and compared congenital heart disease hospital admissions from 1998 through June 30, 2004, with those from July 1, 2004, through 2010. From the first period to the second, adult admissions grew much more rapidly than pediatric admissions.

Adult admissions increased by 87.8%, from 331,162 in the first half to 622,084 in the second half.
Pediatric admissions increased by 32.8%, from 815,471 to 1,082,540.

Adults constituted a growing percentage — from 28.9% to 36.5% — of congenital heart disease admissions.

The authors wrote that the “observed trend is likely due to a number of independent forces including better congenital heart disease survival, an aging population, and accumulating comorbidities. Limited availability of quality outpatient services may also contribute.”

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March 7th, 2013