Addressing sexual health in congenital heart disease: when being the same isn't the same

A larger number of individuals born with congenital heart disease is living into adolescence and young adulthood. With this comes the responsibility to counsel these patients regarding their sexual and reproductive health. This study utilizes representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare sexual measures including percentage of that sexually active, age of first sexual activity, number of sexual partners, condom use, and history of sexually transmitted diseases in those with and without congenital heart disease. A total of 1086 patients (1057 without congenital heart disease and 29 with congenital heart disease) were included in this study. Likelihood of being sexually active, age of first sexual intercourse, and condom use did not differ significantly between the two groups after multivariate analysis. Incidence of sexually transmitted disease did not differ between the two groups after multivariate analysis except for genital warts. There are no major differences in sexual measures between those with and without congenital heart disease. The absence of significant differences in sexual measures in those with congenital heart disease compared with the general population places this group of individuals at increased health risk known to occur with pregnancy.