Adult Congenital Heart Disease

The population of patients with adult congenital heart diseases (ACHD) has grown significantly over the last few decades because of advances in their management prolonging survival. Accurate evaluation and diagnosis are pertinent to treating ACHD. Clinicians are often less familiar and confident when caring for ACHD patients whether in the inpatient or outpatient settings because of the heterogeneity and complexity of these diseases and their presentations. These patients can be very sick and often need surgery so are frequently encountered in intensive care and peri-operative environments. Echocardiography remains the first line non-invasive imaging modality in assessing heart anatomy and pathophysiology in ACHD. This chapter focuses on the echocardiographic evaluation of commonly encountered ACHD, including septal defects, Ebstein’s anomaly and great vessel anomalies.