Web Chat Transcripts - Questions and Answers With a Physician
Adult congenital heart disease is a type of defect in one or more structures of the heart or blood vessels. Congenital heart defects may be diagnosed before birth, right after birth, during childhood or not until adulthood. It is possible to have a defect and no symptoms at all. About 500,000 adults in the United States have grown into adulthood with congenital heart disease. This number increases by approximately 20,000 each year. Most adults with congenital heart disease should be monitored by a heart specialist and take precautions to prevent endocarditis (an infection of the heart) throughout their life.
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