Survival in Children With Congenital Heart Disease: Have We Reached a Peak at 97%?

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Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in Congenital Heart Disease
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Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in Congenital Heart Disease

Published on: July 18, 2014

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Zacharias Mandalenakis1, Kok Wai Giang1, Peter Eriksson1

  • 1Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine Institute of Medicine Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Sweden.

Journal of the American Heart Association
|November 6, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Survival for children with congenital heart disease (CHD) has significantly improved since the 1980s. However, survival rates have plateaued this century, with over 97% now reaching adulthood, necessitating lifelong management.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Medical Registries

Background:

  • Advances in pediatric healthcare have occurred over decades.
  • Uncertainty remains regarding continued survival increases in children with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine survival trends in children diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD).
  • To compare mortality risk in pediatric CHD patients versus the general population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized nationwide Swedish health registries from 1980 to 2017.
  • Included 64,396 patients with CHD and 639,012 matched controls.
  • Employed Cox proportional regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

Main Results:

  • Mortality risk was 17.7 times higher in children with CHD compared to controls.
  • Highest mortality occurred within the first four years of life.
  • Survival rates increased substantially by birth decade, reaching 97% for those born 2010-2017, with no improvement post-2000.

Conclusions:

  • Survival in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) has significantly increased since the 1980s.
  • No significant survival improvement observed in the 21st century.
  • Over 97% of children with CHD now reach adulthood, emphasizing the need for lifelong care.

Keywords:
congenital heart diseasenationwidepediatricregistry studysurvivorship

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