Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Today, more than 95% of all children born with congenital heart disease will survive to adulthood. Adults with congenital heart disease need lifelong follow-up of their heart condition and the ways it affects the rest of their health. These patients have unique and complex health needs that are best served by specialists who have specific training in adult congenital cardiology (ACHD). These specialists understand the pediatric heart conditions and journey many patients go through in childhood, and also have expertise in treating adult health issues that eventually develop. MUSC Children's Health Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center provides exceptional care for these patients through our Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program. Our ACHD Program was the first in the Southeast to earn the Adult Congenital Heart Association's seal of approval as an ACHD Accredited Comprehensive Care Center, and we are the only ACHD-Accredited Center in South Carolina. The recognition acknowledges our expertise and comprehensive care for adults with CHD.

MUSC's ACHD team is committed to providing teenagers and adults superior care. Our team includes specialized ACHD cardiologists trained from both pediatric and adult cardiology backgrounds, a dedicated ACHD nurse practitioner, team nurse coordinator, cardiac intensivists, congenital cardiothoracic surgeons, advanced cardiac imagers, and electrophysiologists. We work closely with pediatric cardiology care teams to facilitate a smooth and comfortable transition from pediatric care to adult-oriented care through our MUSC Cardiac Transition Program. Our ACHD team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides a full range of clinical services for inpatient and outpatient care, including:

• Comprehensive cardiac imaging (such as echocardiogram and MRI)
• Cardiac and non-cardiac surgeries including post-operative care
• Cardiac anesthesia collaboration
• Cardiac catheterizations and catheter-based interventions
• Arrhythmia treatment and pacemaker management
• Heart failure management and transplantation evaluation
• Pulmonary hypertension therapies
• Contraception and family-planning before and during pregnancy
• Patient and family education and support as teenagers transition to adult-oriented care
• Mental health support and guidance

Our ACHD team meets routinely with other specialists to provide necessary care for adults, including intensivists, surgeons, obstetricians and gynecologists, gastroenterologists, hematologists, dentists, and primary care doctors. We support both physical and emotional health of our patients and have a dedicated psychologist familiar with the unique impacts our patients' heart health can have on their mental health. We prioritize a team-based approach to complex patient-care decisions with regular discussions between adult and pediatric cardiology providers, including multidisciplinary care-planning for our patients who become pregnant. We welcome new patients of every age to promote lifelong and on-going care. They have pediatric-like heart disease but face the usual issues of adult life, including education, jobs and family. Their issues often require the expertise of specialists who understand both the complex nature of their heart condition and the medical and social issues faced by young adults. To address these needs, the MUSC Children's Health Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center has developed a program with a team of adult and pediatric cardiac specialists who can provide both perspectives. This multidisciplinary approach has proven to be the best way to care for this complex group of patients.